
Class _"E_5QJ^ 



COPYRIGHT DEPQSm 



/ 



THE LIFE OF 



HON. WILLIAM R CODY 



.'BB 



KNOWN AS 



BUFFALO BILL 



THE FAMOUS 



huntp:r, scout and guide. 



AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 



Hartford, Conn: 
FRANK E. BLISS 



i -'^o mq.L.^ 



^ ' ' . 



Copyright, 1879, 
by F. E. BLISS. 

All rightH reserved. 



GENP:RAL PHILIP H. SHERIDAN, 

THIS BOOK IS .MOST KESFECTFLLLY DEDICATED BY 

• THE AUTHOR. 



INTRODUCTORY. 

The life and adventures of Hon. William F. Cody — Buflalo 
Bill — as told b}' himself, make up a narrative which reads more 
like romance than reality, and which in many respects will prove 
a valuable contribution to the records of our Western frontier 
history. While no literary excellence is claimed for the narra- 
tive, it has the greater merit of being truthful, and is verified 
in such a manner that no one can doubt its veracity'. The fre- 
quent reference to such militarj' men as Generals Sheridan, Carr, 
Merritt, Crook, Terry, Colonel Royal, and other officers under 
whom Mr. Cody served as scout and guide at different times and 
in various sections of the frontier, during the numerous Indian 
campaigns of the last ten or twelve j'ears, affords ample proof of 
of his genuineness as a thoroughbred scout. 

There is no humbug or braggadocio about Buflfalo Bill. He is 
known far and wide, and his reputation has been earned honest- 
1}^ and b}' hard work. By a combination of circumstances he 
was educated to the life of a plainsman from his youth up : and 
not the least interesting portion of his career is that of his early 
life, passed as it was in Kansas during the eventful and trouble- 
ous times connected with the settlement of that state. Spend- 
ing much time in the saddle, while a mere boy he crossed the 
plains many times in company with bull-trains ; on some of these 
trips he met with thrilling adventures and had several hair- 
breadth escapes from death at the hands of Indians. Then, for 
a while, he was dashing over the plains as a pony-express rider. 
Soon afterwards, mounted on the high seat of an overland stage- 
coach, he was driving a six-in-hand team. We next hear of 



vi INTRODUCTORY. 

him cracking the bull-whacker's whip, and commanding a wagon- 
train through a wild and dangerous country to the far West. 
During the civil war he enlisted as a private, anil became a scout 
with the Union arm}' ; since the war he has been emplo^'ed as 
hunter, trapper, guide, scout and actor. As a bulialo .hunter he 
has no superior ; as a trailer of Intlians he has no equal. For 
man}- years he has taken an active part in all the principal Indi- 
an camjJaigns on the "Western frontier, and as a scout and guide 
he has rendered inestimable services to the various expeditions 
which he accompanied. 

During his life on the plains hc not onl}- had many exciting 
adventures himself, but he became associated with many of the 
other noted plainsmen, and in his narrative he frequently refers 
to them and relates many interesting incidents and thrilling 
events connected with them. He has had a fertile field from 
which to produce this volume, and has frequently found it neces- 
sar}' to condense the facts in order to embody the most interesting 
events of his life. The following from a letter written by General 
E. A. Carr, of the Fifth Cavahy, now commanding Fort McPher- 
son, speaks for itself : 

" I first met Mr. Cody, October 22d, 18G8, at Buffalo Station, on the 
Kansas Pacific railroad, in Kansas. He was scout and guide for the seven 
companies of the Fifth Cavalry, then under Colonel Royal, and of which I 
was ordered to take the command. * * * * 

"From his services with my command, steadily in the field for nine 
months, from October, 1868, to July, 1869, and at subsequent times, I am 
qualified to bear testimony to his qualities and character. 

" He was very modest and unassuming. I did not know for a long time 
how good a title he had to the appellation, 'BufFiilo Bill.' I am apt to dis- 
count the claims of scouts, as they will occasionally exaggerate; and when I 
found one who said nothing about himself, I did not think much of him, till 
I had proved him. He is a natural gentleman in liis manners as well as in 
character, and has none of the roughness of the typical frontiersman. He 
can take his own part when required, but I have never heard of his using a 
knife or a pistol, or engaging in a quarrel where it could be avoided. Hi& 
personal strength and activity are such that he can hardly meet a man whom 
he cannot handle, and his temper and disposition are so good that no one has 
reason to quarrel with him. 

"His eye-sight is better than a good field glass; he is the best trailer I 
ever heard of; and also the best judge of the 'lay of country,' — that is, 



INTRODUCTORY. vii 

he is able to tell what kind of country is ahead, so as to know how to act. 
He is a perfect judge of distance, and always ready to tell correctly liow 
many miles it is to water, or to any place, or how many miles have been 
marched. * * * * 

"Mr. Cody seemed never to tire and was always ready to go, in the dark- 
est night or the worst weather, and usually volunteered, knowing what the 
emergency required. His trailing, when following Indians or looking for 
stray animals or game, is simply wonderful. He is a most extraordinary 
hunter, I could not believe that a man could be certain to shoot antelope 
running till I had seen him do it so often. 

"In a fight Mr. Cody is never noisy, obstreperous or excited. In fact, I 
never hardly noticed him in a fight, unless I happened to want him, or he 
had something to report, when he was always in the right place, and his in- 
formation was always valuable and reliable. 

"During the winter of 1868, we encountered hardships and exposure in 
terrific snow storms, sleet, etc., etc. On one occasion, that winter, Mr. 
Cody showed his quality by quietly oflTering to go with some dispatches to 
General Sheridan, across a dangerous region, where another principal scout 
was reluctant to risk himself. 

" On the 13th of May, It^GO, he was in the fight at Elephant Rock, Kansas, 
and trailed the Indians till the IGtli, when we got another fight out of tliem 
on Spring Creek, in Nebraska, and scattered them after following them one 
hundred and fifty miles in three days. It was at Spring Creek where Cody 
was ahead of the command about three miles, with the advance guard of 
forty men, when two hundred Indians suddenly surrounded them. Our men^ 
dismounted and formed in a circle, holding their horses, firing and slowly re-, 
treating. They all, to this day, speak of Cody's coolness and bravery. 
This was the Dog Soldier band which captured Mrs. Alderdice and Mrs. 
Weichel in Kansas. They strangled Mrs. Alderdice's baby, killed Mrs. 
Weichel's husband, and took a great deal of property and stock from differ- 
ent persons. We got on their trail again, June 28th, and followed it nearly 
two hundred miles, till we struck the Indians on Sunday, July 11th, 1869, 
at Summit Spring. The Indians, as soon as thoy saw us coming, killed 
Mrs. Alderdice with a hatchet, and shot Mrs. Weichel, but fortunately not 
fatally, and she was saved. 

" Mr. Cody has since served with me as post guide and scout at Fort Mc- 
Pherson, where he frequently distinguished himself. * * * * 

" In the summer of 1876, Cody went with me to the Black Hills region^ 
where he killed Yellow-Hand. Afterwards he was with the Big Horn and 
Yellowstone expedition. I consider that his services to the country and the 
army by trailing, finding and fighting Indians, and thus protecting the 
frontier settlers, and by guiding commands over the best and most practi- 
cable routes, have been far beyond the compensation he has received. His 
friends of tiie Fifth Cavalry are all glad that ho is in a lucrative business, 
and hope that he may live long and prosper. Personally, I feel under 



yiii INTRODUCTORY. 

obligations to him for assistance in my campaigns which no other man 

could, or would, have rendered. Of course I wish him, and his, every 

success. 

FoKT McPherson, Nebraska, ) E. A. CARR, Lt. Col. 5th Cav., 

July 3d, 1878 > Brev. Maj. Gen'I U. S. Army. 

BufTalo Bill is now an actor, and is meeting with success. He 
owns a large and valuable farm adjoining the town of North 
Platte, Nebraska, and there his family live in ease and comfort. 
He has also an extensive cattle ranch on the Dismal river, sixty- 
five miles north of North Platte, his partner being Major Frank 
North, the old commander of the celebrated Pawnee scouts. While 
many events of his career are known to the public, yet the reader 
will find in this narrative much that will be entirely new and in- 
tensely interesting to both young and old. 

THE PUBLISHER. 



Jllu$tration$< 



PAGE, 

THE AUTHOR, PORTEAIT, ON STKEL Fkontispieoe — 

Youthful Adventures IS 

Samuel's Fatal Accident '•il 

Billings as a Bocarko 81 

Billings Riding Little Gkay 33 

Exciting Sport (Full Page; 36 • 

Staking out Lots *t* 

JiT Father Stabbed *. 42 

My Father's Escape *3 

Life or Death , 45 

Boyish Sport • 52 

Two to O.ve 54 

Killing My First Indiax (Full Page) 60- 

A Prairie Schooner (Full Page) 6T 

Wild Bill (Portrait) .v 71 

Holding The Fort (Full Page) 8l - 

Camping in a Sepulchre (Full Page) 87 • 

Rafting on the Platte -. 90 

Riding Pony Express 92 

SAVED BY Chief JIain ix-theFace (Full Page) 96-^ 

Changing Horses 105 

Attack o?f Stage Coach . 106 

Alf. Slade Killing the Driver 109 

The Horse Thieves Den (Full Page) 113 - 

My' Escape From the Horse Thieves.. J _ 116 

BobScott'8 Famous Coach Ride (Full Page) 122 

"Nearly Every Man had Two Horses" I'ifi 

Wild Bill and the Outlaws •. (Full Page) 129 

Wild Bill's Duel 133 

Gener\l Geo. A. Custer (Portrait).. 147 

Departing Riches 151 

Tongues AND Tenderloins 156 

The Indian Horse Thieves 159 

The Man Who Fired the Gun 1*^0 

Buffalo Ci ll (Full Page) 163 

"Down Went His Horse" K^S 

The Fire Signal 16' 

Kit Carson (Portp-ait)-^ 170 

A Good House '. 177 

A Big Joke 1*9 

Ambushing THE Indians (Full Page) 1&4 

WnoA There! • 189 

Delivering Dispatches to General Sheridan 191 

TheTwoTrajips "^ 



X ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Carrying Dispatches 199 

Gen 'l Phil. Shkkidan (Portrait) % 201 

Battle on the Aeickakee 204 

Bringing Meat into Camp 208 

"Indians!" 209 

General E. A. Cakr (Portrait)..", 210 

A Crack Shot 213 

A Hard Crowd 21T 

Camping in the Snow (Full Page) 220 - 

A Welcome Visitor 225 

Anteloi'ks 228 

The Recaptup.eof Bevins (Full Page) 239 ■ 

EoBBiNG A Stage Coach '. 242 

Indian Village (Full Page) 257 - 

The Killing op Tall Bull 261 

An Old Bonk 267 

A Wedding Ceremont 278 

A Ride for Life 279 

Prairie Dog Village 285 

McCarthy's Fright 291 

Finding the Remains of the Buck Party (Full Page) 29.3 ■ 

Spotted Tail (Por:Rait) 297 

Grand Duke Alexis (Portrait) 299 

Indian Exercises 300 

Two-Lance Killing a Buffalo 303 

An Embarrassing Situation 307 

Texas Jack ;.. (Portrait) j 316 

Rifles , 319 

Studying the Parts 324 

Behind the Footlights 326 

Learning the Game 332 

Getting Satisfaction 334 

A Duel with Chief Yellow-Hand (Full Page) 345 

Scouting on a Steamboat 35* 

Close Quarters 358 

One of the Troupe 364 




CHAPTER I. 

CHILDHOOD. 

Early Days in Iowa — A Brother's Death — The Family Move to a New- 
Country — Incidents on the Road — The Horse Race — Our " Little 
Gray " Victorious — A Pleasant Acquaintance— Uncle Elijah Cody 

— Our New Home — My Ponies 17 

CHAPTER II. 

EARLY INFLUENCES. 

Dress Parade at Fort Leavenworth — The Beautiful Salt Creek Valley — 
The Mormon Emigrants — The Wagon Trains — The Cholera — A 
Lively Scene — My First Sight of Indians — " Dolly " and " Prince " 
— A Long-Lost Relative Turns up — Adventurous Career of Horace 
Billings — His Splendid Horsemanship — Catching Wild Horses. ... 26 
CHAPTER III 

BO\' DAYS IN KANSAS. 

My Indian Acquaintances — An Indian Barbecue — Beginning of the 
Kansas Troubles— An Indiscreet Speech by my Father, who is 
Stabbed for his Boldness — Persecutions at the Hands of the 
Missourians — A Strategic Escape — A Battle at Hickory Point — A 
Plan to Kill Father is Defeated by Myself -He is Elected to the 
Lecompton Legislature — I Enter the Employ of William Russell 
— Herding Cattle — A Plot to Blow L^p our House — A Drunken 

Missourian on the War-Path. .... 38 

CHAPTER IV. 

YOUTHFUL EXPERIENCES. 

At School — My First Love Scrape — I Punish my Rival, and then Run 
Away — My First Trip Across the Plains — Steve Gobel and I 
are Friends once more — Death of my Father — I Start forSalt Lake 
— Our Wagon Train Surprised by Indians, who Drive us off, and 
Capture our Outfit —I Kill my First Indian— Our Return to Leaven- 
worth — I am Interviewed by a Newspaper Reporter, who gives me 
a Good "Send-Off" 53 



xii CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER V. 

IN BUSINESS. 

My Second Trip Across the Plains— The Salt Lake Trail— Wild Bill — 
He Protects me from the Assault of a Bully— A Buffalo Hunt — 
Our Wagon Train Stampeded by Buffaloes — We are Taken Pris- 
oners by the Mormons — We Proceed to Fort Bridger 64 

CHAPTER VI. 

HARD TIMES. 

A Dreary Winter At Fort Bridger — Short Rations — Mule Steaks — 
Homeward Bound in the Spring — A Square Meal — Corraled by 
Indians — A Mule Barricade— We Hold the Fort — Home Again — 
Off for the West — Trapping on the Chugwater And Laramie 
Rivers — We go to Sleep In a Human Grave — A Horrifying Dis- 
covery — A Jollification at Oak Grove Ranch — Home Once More — 
I go to School — The Pikes Peak Gold Excitement — Down the 

Platte River on a Raft — I Become a Pony Express Rider 78 

CHAPTER VII. 

ACCIDENTS AND ESCAPES. 

Trapping on Prairie Dog Creek — An Accident vehereby we Lose one of 
our Oxen — I Fall and Break my Leg — Left Alone in Camp — Unwel- 
come Visitors — A Party of Hostile Sioux Call upon me and Make 
Themselves at Home — Old Rain-in-the-Face Saves my Life — Snow- 
Bound — A Dreary Imprisonment — Return of my Partner — A Joy- 
ful Meeting— We Pull Out for Home- Harrington Dies 93 

CHAPTER VIII. 

ADVENTUKES ON THE OVERLAND BOAD. 

Introduction to Alf. Slade — He Employs me as a Pony Express Rider 
— I Make a Long Ride — Indians Attack an Overland Stage Coach 
— Wild Bill Leads a Successful Expedition against the Indians — A 
Grand Jollification at Sweetwater Bridge — Slade Kills a Stage 
Driver — The End of the Spree — A Bear Hunt — I fall among Horse 

Thieves— My Escape— I Guide a Party to Capture the Gang 103 

CHAPTER IX. 

FAST DRIVING. 

Bob Scott, the Stage Driver — The Story of the Most Reckless Piece of 

Stage Driving that ever Occurred on the Overland Road 119 

CHAPTER X. 

QUESTIONABLE PROCEEDINGS. 

The Civil War— Jayhawking— Wild Bill's Fight with the McCandless 
Gang of Desperadoes— I become Wild Bill's Assistant Wagon- 
Master — We Lose our Last Dollar on a Horse Race — He becomes 
a Government Scout — He has a Duel iit Springfield 125 



CONTENTS. 



XIU 



CHAPTER XI. 

A SOLUIKK. 

Scouting against tlie Indians in the Kiowa and Comanche country — The 
Red-Legged Scouts — A Trip to Denver — Death of my Mother — 
I Awake one Morning to Find myself a Soldier — I am put on De- 
tached Service as a Scout — The Cliase after Price — An Unexpect- 
ed Meeting with Wild Bill — An Unpleasant Situation — Wild Bill's 
Escape from the Southern Lines — The Charge upon Price's Army 

— We return to Springfield . . . ; - 13i 

CHAPTER XII. 

. A WEDDING. 

I Fall in Love — A Successful Courting Expedition — I am Married — 
The Happiest Event of my Life— Our Trip up the Missouri River — 
The Bushwhackers Come after me — I become Landlord of a Hotel 
— Off for the Plains once more — Scouting on the Frontier for the 
Government — A Ride with General Custer — An Expedition from 
Fort Hays has a Lively Chase after Indians — Cholera in Camp.. 141 
CHAPTER XIII. 

A MILLIONAIRE. 

A Town Lot Speculation — " A Big Thing " — I become Half-Owner of a 
City — Corner Lots Reserved- — Rome's Rapid Rise — We consider 
ourselves Millionaires — Dr. Webb — Hays City — We Regard our- 
selves as Paupers — A Race with Indians — Captain Graham's Scout 

after the Indians 149 

CHAPTER XIV. 

EARNING A TITLE. 

Hunting for the Kansas Pacific — Kow I got my Name of " Buffalo Bill" 
— The Indians give me a Lively Chase — They get a Dose of their 
own Medicine — Another Adventure — Scotty and myself Corraled by 

Indians — A Fire Signal brings Assistance — Kit Carson 161 

CHAPTER XV. 

CHAMPION BUFFALO KILLER. 

A Buffalo Killing Match with Billy Comstock — An Excursion party from 
St. Louis come out to Witness the Sport — I win the Match, and 

am declared the Champion Buffalo Killer of the Plains 171 

CHAPTER XVI. 

A COURIER. 

Scouting — Captured by Indians — A Strategic Escape — A Hot Pursuit 
— The Indians led into an Ambush— Old Satanta's Tricks and Tlireats 
— Excitement at Fort Earned — Herders and Wood-Choppers Killed 
by the Indians — A Perilous Ride — I get into the wrong Pew — Safe 
arrival at Fort Hays — Interview with General Sheridan — My ride 
to Fort Dodge — I return to Fort Earned — My Mule gets away from 
me — A long Walk — The Mule Passes In his Chips 178 



xiv , CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

AN APPOINTMENT. 

General Sheridan appoints me Guide and Cliief of Scouts of the Fifth 
Cavalry— The Dog Soldiers— General Forsyth's Fight on the 
Arickaree Fork 200 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

SCOUTING 

Arrival of the Fifth Cavalry at Fort Hays— Out on a Scout— A little 
Skirmish with Indians — A Buffalo Hunt — A False Alarm in camp — 
A Scout on the Beaver — The Supply Camp is Surprised — Arrival of 
General Carr — The new Lieutenant and his Reception — Another 
Indian Hunt — An Engagement — A Crack Shot — I have a little 
Indian fight of my own — Return to Fort Wallace — While hunting 
Buffaloes with a small Party, we are Attacked by Fifty Indians. . . . 206 

CHAPTER XIX. 

A TOUGH TIME. 

A Winter's Campaign in the Canadian River Country — Searching for 
Penrose's Command — A Heavy Snow-Storm — Taking the Wagon 
Train down a Mountain Side — Camp Turkey — Darkey Deserters 
from Penrose's Command — Starvation in Penrose's Camp — We 
reach the Command with Timely Relief — Wild Bill — A Beer Jollifi- 
cation — Hunting Antelopes — Return to Fort Lyon 218 

CHAPTER XX. 

AN EXCITING CHASE. 

A Difficulty with a Quartermaster's Agent— I give him a Severe Pound- 
ing — A Stormy Interview with General Bankhead and Captain 
Laufer— I put another "Head" on the Quartermaster's Agent— I 
am Arrested— In the Guard-House — General Bankhead Releases 
me— A Hunt after Horse Thieves— Their Capture— Escape of 
Bevins — His Recapture— Escape of Williams— Bevins Breaks Out 
of Jail— His Subsequent Career 229 

CHAPTER XXL 

A MILITARY EXPEDITION. 

The Fifth Cavalry is Ordered to the i:)eparttr.cnt of the Platte— Liquids 
vs. Solids— A Skirmish with tlie Indians— Arrival at Fort McPher- 
8on— Appointed Chief of Scouts— Major Frank North and the 
Pawnee Scouts— Belden the White Cliicf— The Sliooting Match- 
Review of the Pawnee Scouts— An Expedition against the Indians 
— " Buckskin Joe" 243 



CONTENTS. XV 

CHAPTER XXII. 

A DESPERATE FIGHT. 

Pawnees vs. Siouxs — We strike a Large Trail — The Print of a Woman's 
Shoe — The Summit Springs Fight — A Successful Charge — Capture 
of the Indian Village — Rescue of a White Woman — One hundnd 
and forty Indians Killed — I kill Tall Bull and Capture his Swift 
Steed — The Command proceeds to Fort Sedgwick — Powder Face — 
A Scout after Indian Horse-Thieves — "Ned Buntline " — "Tall 
Bull" as a Racer — Powder Face wins a Race without a Rider— 

An Expedition to the Niobrara — An Indian Tradition 254 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

ADMINISTERING JUSTICE. 

I make my Home at Fort McPherson — Arrival of my Family — Hunting 
and Horse Racing — An Indian Raid — Powder Fave Stolen — A 
Lively Chase — An Expedition to the Republican River Country — 
General Duncan — A Skirmish with the Indians — A Stern Chase — 
An Addition to my Family — Kit Carson Cody — I am made a Justice 
of the Peace — A Case of Replevin — I perform a Marriage Cere- 
mony — Professor Marsh's Fossil- Hunting Expedition 268 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

HUNTING EXPEDITIONS. 

The Grand Hunt of General Sheridan, James Gordon Bennett, and 
other Distinguished Gentlemen — From Fort McPherson to Fort 
Hays — Incidents of the Trip — " Ten Days on the Plains" — Gen- 
eral Carr's Hunting Expedition — A Joke on McCarthy — A Search 
for the Remains of Buck's Surveying Party, who had been Mur- 
dered by the Indians 281 

CHAPTER XXV. 

HUNTING WITH A GRAND DUKE. 

The Grand Duke Alexis Hunt — Selection of a Camp — I Visit Spotted 
Tail's Camp — The Grand Duke and Party arrive at Camp Alexis — 
Spotted Tail's Indians give a Dance — The Hunt — Alexis Kills his 
First Buffalo — Champagne — The Duke Kills another Buffalo — 
More Champagne — End of the Hunt — Departure of the Duke and 
his Party 295 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

SIGHT-SEEING. 

My Visit in the East — Reception in Chicago — Arrival in New York — I 
am well Entertained by my old Hunting Friends — I View the Sights 
of the Metropolis— Ned Buntline— The Play of " Buffalo Bill "—I 
am Called Upon to make a Speecli — A Visit to my Relatives — 
Return to the West 306 



xvi CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

HONORS. 

Arrival of the Third Cavalry at Fort McPherson — A Scout after Indians 
— A Desperate Fight with Thirteen Indians — A Hunt with the Earl 
of Dunraven — A Hunt with a Chicago Party — Milligan's Bravery — 
Neville — I am Elected to the Nebraska Legislature 313 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

AN ACTOR. 

I resolve to go upon the Stage — I resign my Seat in the Legislature — 
Texas Jack — " The Scouts of the Plains " — A Crowded House — A 
Hapify Thought— A Brilliant Debvt—X Tour of tlie Country 320 

CHAPTER XXIX. 

STARRING. 

The Theatrical Season of 1S73-74— Wild Bill and his Tricks— He 
Leaves us at Rochester — He becomes a " Star" — A Bogus " Wild 
Bill " — A Hunt with Thomas P. Medley, an English gentleman — 
A Scout on the Powder River and in the Big Horn Country — Cali- 
fornia Joe — Theatrical Tour of IST-l and 1875 — Death of my son, 
Kit Carson Cody , 329 

CHAPTER XXX. 

A EETUEN TO THE PLAINS. 

The Sioux Campaign of 1876 — I am appointed Guide and Chief of 
Scouts of the Fifth Cavalry — An Engagement with eight hundred 
Cheyennes — A Duel with Yellow Hand — Generals Terry and Crook 

meet, and co-operate Together 340 

CHAPTER XXXL 

DANGEROUS WORK. 

Scouting on a Steamboat — Captain Grant Marsh — A Trip down the 
Yellowstone River — Acting as Dispatch Carrier — I Return East and 
open my Theatrical Season with a New Play — Immense Audiences 
— I go into the Cattle Business in company with Major Frank North 
— My Home at North Platte 3ij3 

CHAPTER XXXII.* 

CONCLUSION. 

A Cattle "Round-up" — A Visit to My Family in our New Home — A 
A Visit from my Sisters — I go to Denver — Buying more Cattle — 
Pawnee and Nez-Perces Indians Engaged for a Theatrical Tour — 
The Season of 1878-79 — An experience in Washington — Home 
Once More 362 



CHAPTER I. 



CHILDHOOD. 



MY debut upon the world's stage occurred on February 
26th, 1845. The scene of this first important event in 
nij adventurous career, being in Scott county, in the State 
of Iowa. My parents, Isaac and Mary Ann Cody, who were 
numbered among the pioneers of Iowa, gave to me the name 
of "William Frederick. I was the fourth child in the family. 
Martha and Julia, my sisters, and Samuel my brother, had 
preceded me, and the children who came after me Avere Eliza, 
JN^ellie, Mary and Charles, born in the order named. 

At the time of my birth the family resided on a farm 
which they called " Napsinekee Place," — an Indian name — 
and here the first six or seven years of my childhood Avel'e 
spent. When I was about seven years old my father moved 
the family to the little town of LeClair, located on the bank 
of the Mississippi, fifteen miles above the city of Davenport. 
Even at that early age my adventurous spirit led me into all 
sorts of mischief and danger, and when I look back upon my 
childhood's days I often wonder that I did not get drowned 
while swimming or sailings or my neck broken while I was 
stealing apples in the neighboring orchards. 

I well remember one day that I went sailing with two other 
boys ; in a few minutes we found ourselves in the middle 
of the Mississippi ; becoming frightened at the situation we^ 
2 ^17^ 



18 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

lost our presence of mind, as well as our oars. We at once 
set lip a chorus of pitiful yells, when a man, who fortu- 
nately heard us, came to our rescue with a canoe and 
towed us ashore., We had stolen the boat, and our trouble 
did not end nntilwe had each received a merited whipping, 
which impressed the incident vividly upon ni}^ mind. I recol- 
lect several occasions when I was nearly eaten up by a large 
and savage dog, which acted as custodian of an orchard and 
also of a melop patch, which I frequently visited. Once, as 
I was climbing over the fence witli a hatful of apples, this 
dog, which had started for me, canght me by the seat of the 
pantaloons, and while I clung to the top of the fence he 
literally tore them from my legs, but fortunately did not 
touch my flesh. I got away with the apples, however, by 
tumbling over to the opposite side of the fence with them. 

It was at LeClair that I acquired my first experience as an 
equestrian. Somehow or other I had managed to corner 
a horse near a fence, and had climbed upon his back. The 
next moment the horse got his back up and hoisted me into 
the air, I fell violently to t|ie ground, striking upon my side 
in such a way as to seveirely wrench and strain my arm, from 
the effects of which I'. did not recover for some time. I 

V.' 

abandoned the art of horsemanship for a while, and was 
induced after considerable persuasion to turn my attention 
to letters — my A, B, C's — which were taught me at the village 
school. 

My father at this time Avas running a stage line between 
Chicago and Davenport, no railroads then having been built 
west of Chicago. In 18-49 he got the California fever and 
made up his mind to cross the great plains— which were then 
and for years afterwards called the American Desert — to the 
Pacific coast. lie got ready a complete outfit and started 
with quite a party. After proceeding a few miles, all but 
my father, and greatly to his tii>a])pointment, changed their 
minds for some reason and abandoned the enterprise. They 
all returned home, and soon afterwards father ■. ■ "" ^ •-" 



MEMORIES OF CHILDHOOD. 



19 



,-Si?;^5S.. 



^. - 



1 



\^ 




YOUTHFUL ADVENTURES. 



I family out to Walnut Grove 
" Farm, in Scott coiintj. / ^^' 
"While living there t^as 
sent to school, more for the 
purpose of being kept out of 
mischief than to learn any- 
thing. Much of my time was 
spent in trapping qujiils, 
which were very plentiful. I 
greatly enjoyed studying the 
habits of the little birds, and 
in devising traps to take them 
in. I was most successful 
with the common figure "4" 
trap which 1 could build my- 
self. Thus I think it was that 
I acquired my love for hunt- 
ing. I visited the quail traps 
twice a day, morning and 
evening, and as I had now 
become quite a good rider I 
was allowed to have one of 
the farm horses to carry me 
over my route. Many a jolly 
ride I had and many a boyish 
prank was perpetrated after 
getting well away from and 
out of the sight of home with 
the horse. 



20 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

There was one event which occurred in my childhood, 
which I cannot recall without a feeling of sadness. It was 
the death ot ray brother Samuel, who was accidently killed 
in his twelfth year. 

My father at the time, being considerable of a politician as 
well as a farmer, was attending apolitical convention; for 
he \<^as well known in those days as an old line Whig. He 
had been a member of the Iowa legislature, was a Justice of 
the Peace, and had held other offices. He was an excellent 
stump speaker and was often called upon to canvass the 
coimtry round about for different candidates. The con- 
vention which he was attending at the time of the accident 
was being held at a cross-road tavern called " Sherman's," 
about a mile away. 

,- Samuel and I had gone out together on horseback for the 
Zows. He rode a vicious mare, which mother had told him 
/time and again not to ride, as it had an ugly disposition. 
"VYe were passing the school house just as the children were 
being dismissed, Mdien Samuel undertook to give an exhibition 
of his horsemanship, he being a good rider for a boy. The 
mare, Betsy, became unmanageable, reared and fell back- 
ward upon him, injuring him internally. He was picked up 
and carried amid great excitement to the house of a neighbor. 

I at once set out with my horse at the top of his speed for 
my father, and informed him of Samuel's mishap. He took 
the horse and returned immediatf ' . When I arrived at Mr. 
Burns' house, where my brothf was, I found my father, 
mother and sisters there, all weeping bitterly at Samuel's 
bedside. A physician, after examining him, pronounced 
his injuries to be of a fatal character. He died the next 
morning. 

My brother was a great favorite with everybody, and his 
death cast a gloom upon the whole neighborhood. It was a 
great blow to all of the family, and especially to father who 
seemed to be almost heart broken over it. 

Father had been greatly disappointed at the failure of his 



THE FAMILY REMOVES FROM IOWA. 



21 



California expedition, and still desired to move to some new 
country. The death of Samuel no doubt increased this 
desire, and he determined to emigrate. Accordingly, early 




in the spring of 1852, 
he disposed of his farm, 
and late in March we 
took our departure for samfel's fatal accipent. 

Kansas, which m\is then an unsettled territory. Our outfit 
consisted of one carriage, three wagons and some fine blooded 
horses. The carriage wa§ occupied by my mother and 
sisters. Thus we left our JJwa, home. 

Father had a brother, Elijah Cody, living at Weston, 
Platte county, Missouri. He was the leading merchant of 
the place. As the town was located near the Kansas line 
father determined to visit him, and thither our journey was 
directed. Our route lay across Iowa and Missouri, and the 
trip proved of interest to all of us, and especially to me. 
There was something new to be seen at nearly every turn of 
the road. At night the family generally " put up " at hotels 
or cross-road taverns along the way. 



22 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

One day as we were proceeding on our way, we were met 
by a horseman who wanted to sell liis horse, or trade him for 
another. He said the horse had been captured wild in Cal- 
ifornia ; that he was a runner and a racer ; that he had been 
sold by his different owners on account of his great desire 
to run away when taking part in a race. 

The stranger seemed to be very I'rank in his statements, 
and appeared to be very anxious to get rid of the animal, 
and as we were going to Kansas where there would be plenty 
of room for the horse to run as far as as he pleased, father 
concluded to make a trade for him ; so an exchange of 
animals was'^easily and satisfactorily effected. 

The new horse being a small gray, we named him "Little 

Gray."^ . . . ... 

An opportunity of testing the racing qualities of the horse 
was soon aiforded. One day we drove into a small Missouri 
town or hamlet which lay on our route, where the farm- 
ers from the surrounding country were congregated for the 
purpose of having a holiday — ^the principal amusement being 
horse-racing. Father had no trouble in arranging a race for 
Little Gray, and selected one of his teamsters to ride him. 

The Missourians matched their fastest horse against him 
and were confident of cleaning out '' the emigrant," as they 
called father. They were a hard looking crowd. They 
wore their pantaloons in their boots; their hair was loug,- 
bushy and nntrimed ; their faces had evidently never 
made the acquaintance of a razor. They seemed determined 
to win the race by fair means or foul. They did a great deal 
of swearing, anji swaggered about in rather a ruffianly style. 

All these incidents attracted my attention — everything 
being new to me — and became firmly impressed upon my 
memory. My father, being unaccustomed to the ways of 
such rough people, acted very cautiously ; and as they were 
all very anxious to bet on their own horse, he could not be 
induced to wager a very large sum on Little Gray, as he 
was afraid of foul play. 



LITTLE GRAY WINS A RACE. * 23 

" Wa-al, now, stranger," exclaimed one of the crowd, 
*' what kind o'critter have you got anyhow, as how you're 
afraid to buck liiui up very heavy I " 

^ I'll bet five to one agin the emergrant's gray," said another. 

" I'm betting the same way. I'll go yer five hundred 
dollars agin a hundred that the gray nag gits left behind. 
Do I hear any man who wants to come agin me on them ver 
terms?" shouted still another. 

" Hi ! yer boys, give the stranger a chance. Don't scare 
him out of his boots," said a man who evidently was afraid 
that my father might back out. 

Father had but little to say, however, and would not 
venture more than fifty dollars on the result of the race. 

" Gentlemen, I am only racing my horse for sport," said 
he, " and am only betting enough to make it interesting. I 
have never seen Little Gray run, and therefore don't know 
what he can do ;" at the same time he was confident that 
his horse would come in the winner, as he had chosen an 
excellent rider for him. 

Finally all the preliminaries of the contest were arranged. 
The judges were chosen and the money was deposited in the 
hands of a stake-holder. The race was to be a single dash 
of a mile. The horses were brought side by side and mount- 
ed by their riders. 

At the signal — " One, two, three, go ! " — off they started 
like a flash. The Missouri horse took the lead for the first 
quarter of a mile ; at the half-mile, however, he began to 
weaken. The Missourians shouted themselves hoarse in 
urging their horse, but all to no avail. The Little Gray 
passed him and continued to leave him farther and farther 
behind, easily winning the race. 

The affair created a great deal of enthusiasm ; but the 
race was conducted with honor and fairness, which was quite 
an agreeable surprise to my father, who soon found the 
Missourians to be at heart very clever men — thus showing 
that outside appearances are sometimes very deceptive; 



24: * LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

tliey nearly all came up and congratulated him on his success, 
asked liini why he had not bet more money on the race, and 
wanted to buy Little Gray. 

" Gentlemen," said he, '' when I drove up here and ar- 
ranged for this race, I felt conlident that my horse would 
win it. I was among entire strangers, and therefore I only 
bet a small amount. I was afraid that you would cheat me 
in some way or other. I see now that I was mistaken, as I 
have found you to be honorable men." 

" Wa-all, you could have broke m^," said the man who 
wanted to bet the live hundred dollars to one hundred, " for 
that there nag: o' vourn looks no more like a runner nor I do." 

During our stay in the place they treated us very kindly, 
and continued to try to purchase Little Gra}^ My father, 
however, remained lirm in his determination not to part 
with him. 

The next place of interest which we reached, after resum- 
ing our journey, was within twenty miles of "Weston. We 
had been stopping at farm houses along the road, and could 
not get anything to eat in the shape of bread, except corn 
bread, of which all had become heartily tired. As we were 
driving along, we saw in the distance a large and handsome 
brick residence. Father said : " They probably have white 
bread there." 

We drove up to the house and learned that it was owned 
and occupied by Mrs. Burns ; mother of a well-known law- 
yer of that name, who is now living in Leavenworth. She 
was a wealthy lady, and gave us to understand in a pleasant 
way, that she did not entertain travelers. My father, in the 
course of the conversation with her, said : " Do you know 
Elijah Cody?" 

" Indeed, I do," said she ; " he frequently visits us, and 
we visit him ; we are the best of friends." 

" lie is a brother of mine," said father. 

" Is it possible ! " she exclaimed ; " Why, you must remain 
here all night. Have your family come into the house at 
once. You must not go another step to-day." 



OUR ARRIVAL AT WESTON. 25 

The kina ^uvitation was ac-cei)ted, and we remained there 
over night. As father had predicted, we found plenty of 
white bread at this house, and it proved quite a hixurious treat. 

My curiosity was considerably aroused by the many ne- 
groes which 1 saw about the premises, as I had scarcely ever 
seen any colored i)eople, the few, being on the steamboats as 
they passed up and down the Mississippi river. 

The next day my father and mother drove Over to Wes- 
ton in a carriage, and returned with my Uncle Elijah. We 
then all proceeded to his house, and as Kansas was not yet 
open for settlement as a territory, we remained there a few 
days, while father crossed over into Kansas on a prospecting 
tour. He visited the Kickapoo agency — five miles above 
Weston — on the Kansas side of the Missouri river. He 
became accpiainted with the agent, and made arrangements 
to establish himself there as an Indian trader. He then 
returned to Weston and located the family on one of Elijah 
Cody's farms, three miles from town, where we were to re- 
main until Kansas should be thrown open for settlement. 
After completing these arrangements, he established a trad- 
ing-post at Salt Creek Valley, in Kansas, four miles from 
the Kickapoo agency. 

One day, after he had been absent some little time, he 
came home and said that he had bought two ponies for me, 
and that next morning he would take me over into Kansas. 
This was pleasant news, as I had been very anxious to go 
there with him, and the fact that I was now the owner of 
two ponies made me feel very proud. That night I could not 
sleep a wink. In the morning I was up long before the 
sun, and after an early breakfast, father and I started out 
on our trip. Crossing the Missouri river at the Kialto 
Ferry, we landed in Kansas and passed along to Fort 
Leavenworth, four miles distant. 



CHAPTER IL 



EAKLY INFLUENCES. 



f^ ENEEAL HAENEY was in command at Fort Leaven- 
\J worth at the time of our visit, and a regiment of cavalry 
was stationed there. They were having a dress parade when 
we rode up, and as tliis was the first time that I had ever 
seen any soldiers, I thought it was a grand sight. I shall 
never forget it, especial]^' ^^^^ manoeuvres on horseback. 

After witnessing the parade Ave resumed our journey. On 
the way to my father's trading camp we had to cross over a 
high hill known as Salt Creek Hill, from the to]) of which 
we looked down upon the most beautiful valley I Imve ever 
seen. It was about twelve miles long and five miles wide. 
The different tributaries of Salt Creek came down from the 
range of hills at the southwest. At the foot of the valley 
another small river — Plum Creek, also flowed. The bluffs 
fringed with trees, clad in their full foliage, added greatly to 
the picturesqueness of 'the scene. 

While this beautiful valley greatly interested me, yet the 
most novel sight, of an entirely difterent character, which met 
my enraptured gaze, Avas the vast number of white-covered 
wagons, or " prairie-schooners," which were encamped along 
the different streams. I asked my father what they were and 
where they were going ; he explained to me that they were 
emigrant wagons bound for Utah and California. 

26 



SALT CREEK VALLEY. 27 

• 

At that time the Mormon and California trails ran through 
this valley, which was always selected as a camping place. 
TJiere were at least one thousand wagons in the valiey, and 
their white covers lent a pleasing contrast to the green grass. 
The cattle were quietly grazing near the wagons, while the 
emigrants were either resting or attending to camp duties. 

A large number of the wagons, as I learned from my 
father, belonged to Majors & Russell, the great government 
freighters. They had several trains there, each consisting of 
twenty-live wagons, heavily loaded with government sup- 
plies. They were all camped and corraled in a circle. 

While we were viewing this scene, a long wagon train 
came pulling up the hill, bound out from Fort Leavenworth 
to some distant frontier post. The cattle were wild and the 
men were whipping them fearfully, "-he loud reports of the 
bull-whips sounding lilce gun-sliots.' They were " doubling- 
iip," and some of the M'agons were being drawn by fifteen 
yokes of oxen. I remember asking my father a great many 
questions, and he explained to me all about the freighting 
business across the great plains, and told me about the differ- 
ent government posts. 

Pointing over to the army of wagons camped below^ us, he 
showed me which were the Mormons' and which were the 
Californians', and said that we must steer clear of the 
former as the cholera was ra£::ing among them. Five hun- 
dred had died that spring — 1853 — and the grave-yard was 
daily increasing its dimensions. The unfortunate people 
had been overtaken by the dreadful disease, and had been 
compelled to halt on their journey until it abated. 

While we were looking at the Mormons they were holding 
a funeral service over the remains of some of :heir number 
who had died. Their old cemetery is vi^t- indicated by 
various land-marks, which, however, with ne few remaining 
head-boards, are fast disappearing. 

We passed on through this " Yalley of Death," as it 
might then have been very appropriately called, and after 



28 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

riding for some time, my fiither pointed out a large hill and 
showed me his camp, which afterwards became our home. 

There was another trading-post near by, which was con- 
ducted by Mr. M. P. Rively, who had a store built, partly 
frame, and partly of logs. We stopped at this establishment 
for a while, and found perhaps a hundred men, women and 
children gathered there, engaged in trading and gossipping. 
The men had huge pistols and knives in their belts ; their 
pantaloons were tucked in their boots ; and they wore large 
broad-rimmed hats. 

To me they appeared like a lot of cut-throat pirates who 
had come ashore for a lark. It was the first time I had ever 
seen men carrying pistols and knives, and they looked like a 
very dangerous crowd. Some were buying articles of mer- 
chandise ; others were talking about the cholera, the various 
camps, and matters uf interest ; while others were drinking 
whisky freely and becoming intoxicated. It was a busy and 
an exciting scene, and Rively api^eared to be doing a rushing 
trade. 

At some little distance from the store I noticed a small 
party of dark-skinned and rather fantastically dressed peo- 
ple, whom I ascertained were Indians, and as I had never 
before seen a real live Indian, I was m-uch interested in them. 
I went over and endeavored to talk to them, but our conver- 
sation was very limited. 

That evening we reached our camp, which was located two 
miles west of Rively's. The first thing I did was to hunt 
up my ponies, and from my father's description of them, I 
had no difiiculty in finding them. They were lariated in the 
grass, and I inmicdiately ran up to them supposing them to 
be gentle animals. I was greatly mistaken, however, as they 
snorted and jumped away from me, and would not allow 
me to come near Jhem. 

My father, who was standing not far distant, informed me 
that the ponies w( re not yet broken. I was somewhat dis- 
appointed at this and thereupon he and one of his men 



MY PONIES. 29 

caught one of the animals and bridled her, then putting me 
on lier back, led her around, greatly to my delight. 1 kept 
petting her so much that she soon allowed me to approach 
her. She was a beautiful bay, and I named her " Dolly;" 
the other pony was a sorrel, and 1 called him " Prince." 

In the evening some Indians visited the camp — which as 
yet consisted only of tents, though some logs had been cut 
preparatory to building houses — and exchanged their furs 
for clothing, sugar and tobacco. Father had not learned 
their language, and therefore communicated with them by 
means of signs. AYe had our supper by the camp-fire, and 
that night was the first time I ever camped out and slept 
upon the ground. 

The day had been an eventful one to me, for all the inci- 
dents were full of excitement and romance to my youthful 
mind, and I think no apology is needed for mentioning so 
many of the little circumstances, which so greatly interested 
me in my childhood's days, and which no doubt had a great 
influence in shaping my course in after years. My love of 
hunting and scouting, and life on the plains generally, was 
the result of my early surroundings. 

The next morning father visited the Kickapoo agency, 
taking me along. He rode a hor^e, and putting me on my 
pony " Dolly," led the animal all the way. He seemed anx- 
ious to break me in, as Avell as the pony, and I gr^tly en- 
joyed this, my first day's ride on a Kansas prairie. 

At the Kickapoo village I saw hundreds of Indians, some 
of whom were living in lodges, but the majority occupied 
log cabins. The agent resided in a double-hewed log house, 
one of the apartments of which was used as a school for the 
Indians. The agency store was opposite this structure. 

All the buildings were whitewashed, and looked neat and 
clean. The Ivickapoos were very friendly Indians, and we 
spent much of our time among them, looking about and 
studying their habits. 

After a while we returned to our own camp, and just as 



30 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

we arrived there, we saw a drove of horses — there were 
three or four hundred in all — approaching from the west, 
over the California trail. Thej were being driven by seven 
or eight mounted men, wearing sombreros, and dressed in 
buckskin, wdth their lariats dangling from their saddles, and 
they were followed by two or three pack-mules or horses. 
They went into camp a little below us on the bank of the 
stream. 

Presently one of the men walked out towards our camp, 
and my father called to me to come and see a genuine West- 
ern man ; he was about six feet two inches tall, was well 
built, and had a light, springy and wiry step. He wore 
a broad-brimmed California hat, and was dressed in a complete 
suit of buckskin, beautifully trimmed and beaded. He 
saluted us, and father invited him to sit down, which he did. 
After a few moments conversation, he turned to me and said: 

" Little one, I see you are working with your ponies. 
They are wild yet." 

I had been petting Dolly and trying to break her, when 
my father called me to come and look at the Californian. 

" Yes," I replied, " and one of them never has been rid- 
den." 

" "Well, I'll ride him for you ; " and springing lightly to his 
feet, he continued : " come on. Where is the animal ? " 

Accordingly we all went to the place where Prince was 
lariated. The stranger untied the rope from the picket pin, 
and taking a half-loop around the pony's nose, he jumped on 
his back. 

In a moment he was flying over the prairie, the untamed 
steed rearing and pitching every once in a while in his 
eflPorts to throw his rider; but the man was not unseated. 
He was evidently an experienced horseman. I watched his 
every movement. I was unconsciously taking another les- 
son in the practical education which has served me so well 
through my life. 

The Californian rode the pony until it was completely 



BREAKING IN PRINCE. 



31 



mastered, then coming up to me, jumped to the ground, 
handed me the rope, and said : 

" Here's your pony. Pie's all right now." 

I led Prince away, while fatlier and the stranger sat 
down in the shade of a tent, and began talking about the 
latter's horsemanship, which father considered very remark- 
r.ble. 

" Oh, that's nothing ; I was raised on horseback," said the 
Californian ; " I ran away from home when a boy, went to 
sea, and finally landed in the Sandwich Islands, where I fell 




BILLINGS AS A BOCARRO. 



in with a circus, with which I remained two years. During 
that time I became a celebrated bare-back rider. I then 
Avent to California, being attracted there by the gold excite- 
ment, the news of which had reached the Islands. I did not 
go to mining, however, but went to work as a hocarro — 
catching and breaking wild horses, great numbers of which 
were roaming through California. Last sunnner we caught 
this herd that we have brought with us across the plains, 



32 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

and are taking it to the States to sell, I came with the 
outfit, as it gave me a good opportunity to visit my relatives, 
who live at Cleveland, Ohio. I also had an uncle over at 
Weston, across the river, when 1 ran away, and to-morrow I 
am going to visit the town to see if he is there yet." 

" I am acquainted in Weston," said father, " and perhaps 
I can tell you about your uncle. What is his name ? " 

" Elijah Cody," said the Californian. 

" Elijah Cody ! " exclaimed father, in great surprise ; "why 
Elijah Cody is my brother. I am Isaac Cody. Who are 
you ? " 

" My name is Horace Billings," was the reply. 

"And you are my nephew. You are the son of my sister 
Sophia." 

Both men sprang to their feet and began shaking hands in 
the heartiest manner possible. 

The next moment father called me, and said : " Come here, 
my son. Here is some one you M-ant to know." 

As I approached he introduced us. " Horace, this is my 
only son. We call him little Billy ; " and turning to me 
said : "Billy, myboy, this is a cousin of yours, Horace Bil- 
lings, whom you've often heard me speak of." 

Horace Billings hftd never been beard of from the day he 
ran away from home, and his relatives had frequently won- 
dered what had become of him. His appearance, therefore, 
in our camp in the guise of a Californian was somewhat of a 
mystery to me, and 1 could hardly comprehend it until I had 
heard his adventurous story and learned the accidental man- 
ner in which he and father had made themselves known to 
each other. 

Neither father nor myself would be satisfied until he had 
given us a full account of his wandering^.^nd adventures, 
which were very exciting to me. 

Late in the afternoon and just before the sun sank to rest, 
the conversation again turned upon horses and horseman- 
ship. Father told Billings all about Little Gray, and his 



A DARING RIDER. 



33 



great fault of running away. Billings laughed and said 
Little Gray could not run away with him. 

After supper he went out to look at the horse, which was 
picketed in the grass. Surveying the animal carefully, he 
untied the lariat and sli]>ped a running noose over his nose ; 
then giving a light bound, he was on his back in a second, 
and away went the horse and his rider, circling round and 
round on the prairie. Billings managed him by the rope 
alone, and convinced him that he was his master. When 
half a mile away, the horse started for camp at the top of 







^•~^S;c^ 



^y^ts^i^t^- 



BILLINGS KIDING LITTLE GRAY. 



his speed. Billings stood straight upon his back, and thus 
rodo him into cnmp. As he passed us he jumped to the 
ground, allowed the horse to run to the full length of the 
lariat, when he threw him a complete somersault. 

" That's a pretty good horse," said Billmgs. 

" \ es, he's a California horse ; he was captured there 
wild," replied father. 
3 



34 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

The exhibition of horsemanship given bj Billings on this 
occasion was really -wonderful, and was the most skillful and 
daring feat of the kind that I ever witnessed. The remain- 
der of the evening was spent around the camp, and Horace, 
who remained there, entertained ns with several interesting 
chapters of his experiences. 

Next morning he walked over to his own camp, but soon 
returned, mounted on a beautiful horse, with a handsome 
saddle, bridle and lariat. I thought he was a magnificent 
looking man. I envied his appearance, and my ambition 
just then was to become as skillful a horseman as lie was. 
He had rigged himself out in his best style in order to make 
a good impression on his uncle at "Weston, whither father 
and I accompanied him on horseback. 

He was cordially received by Uncle Elijah, who paid him 
every possible attention, and gave me a handsome saddle and 
bridle for my pony, and in the evening when we rode out to 
the farm to see my motlier and sisters, I started ahead to 
show them my present, as well as to tell them who was com- 
ing. They were delighted to see the long-lost Horace, and 
invited him to remain with us. When we returned to camp 
next day, Horace settled up with the proprietor of the 
horses, having concluded to make his home with us for that 
.sumiTfer at least. 

Father employed him in cutting house logs and building- 
houses, but this work not being adapted to his tastes, he soon 
gave it up, and obtained government employment in catch- 
ing United States horses. During the previous spring the 
government herd had stampeded from Fort Leavenworth, 
and between two and three hundred of the horses were 
running at large over the Kansas prairies, and had become 
quite wild. A reward of ten dollars was offered for every 
one of the horses that was captured and delivered to the- 
quartermaster at Fort Leavenworth, This kind of work of 
course just suited the roaming disposition of Billings, especi- 
ally as it was similar to that in which he had been engaged 



*llj''!MiJ«»',al!lii,!l„iI 



te 



"• I "11 'llllNll.i 

liiliihjiilHi:, 




ifiLiiFi's^'affiii 



LASSOING HORSES. o^ 

in California. The horses hud to be caught with a lasso, 
with which he was very expert. He borrowed Little Gray, 
who was lleet enough for the wildest of the runaways, and 
then he at once began his horse hunting. 

Everything that he did, 1 wanted to do. He was a sort of 
hero iu uiy eyes, and I wished to follow in his footsteps. At 
my request and with father's consent, he took me with him, 
and many a wild and perilous chase he led me over the prai- 
rie. I made rapid advances in the art of horsemanship, for 
I could have had no better teacher than Horace Billino^s. 
He also taught me how to tlirow the lasso, which, though 
it was a difficult thing to learn, I finally became, quite 
skillful in. 

Whenever Horace caught one of the horses which acted 
obstinately, and would not be led, he immediately threw him 
to the ground, put a saddle and bridle on him, and gave me 
Little Gray to take care of. He would then mount the cap- 
tive horse and ride him into Fort Leavenworth. I spent two 
months with Horace in this way, until at last no more of the 
horses were to be found. By this time I had become a 
remarkably good rider for a youth, and had brought both of 
my ponies under easy control. 

Horace returned to assist father in hauling logs, which 
were being used in building a dwelling for the family who 
had moved over from Missouri. One day a team did not 
work to suit him, and he gave the horses a cruel beating. 
This greatly displeased father, who took him to task for it. 
Horace's anger flew up in'a moment; throwing down the 
lines he hurried to the house, and began packing up his 
traps. That same day he hired out to a Mormon train, and 
bidding us all good-bye started for Salt Lake, driving six 
yokes of oxen. 



CHAPTEK III. 



BOY DAYS IN KANSAS. 



DURING the summer of 1853 we lived in our little log 
house, and father continued to trade with the Indians, 
who became very friendly ; hardly a day passed without a 
social visit from them. I spent a great deal of time with 
the Indian boys, who taught me how to shoot with the bow 
and arrow, at which I became quite expert. I also took 
part in all their sports, and learned to talk the Kickapoo 
language to some extent. 

Father desired to express his friendship for these Indians, 
and accordingly arranged a grand barbecue for them. He 
invited them all to be present on a certain day, which they 
were ; he then presented them with two fat beeves, to be 
killed and cooked in the various Indian styles. Mother made 
several large boilers full of coft'ee, which she gave to them, 
together with sugar and bread. There were about two hun 
dred Indians in attendance at the feast, and they all enjoyed 
and appreciated it. In the evening they had one of their 
grand fantastic war dances, which greatly amused me, it 
boing the first sight of the kind I had ever witnessed. 

My Uncle Elijah and quite a large number of gentlemen 
and ladies came over from Weston to attend the entertain- 
ment. The Indians returned to their homes well satisfied. 

My uncle at that time owned a trading post at Silver Lake, 

38 



A DELIGHTFUL TRIP. 39 

in the Pottawattamie country, on the Kansas river, and he 
arranged an excursion to that place. Ailiong the party were 
several ladies from Weston, and father, mother and myself. 
Mr. McMeekan, my uncle's superintendent, who had come to 
Weston for supplies, conducted the party to the post. 

The trip across the prairies was a delightful one, and we 
remained at the post several days. Father and one or two 
of the men went on to Fort Ililey to view the country, and 
upon their return my uncle entertained the Pottawattamie 
Indians with a barbecue similar to the one given by father 
to the Kickapoos. 

During the latter part of the summer father filled a hay 
contract at Fort Leavenworth. I passed much of my time 
among the campers, and spent days and days in riding over 
the country with Mr. William Russell, who was engaged in 
the freighting business and who seemed to take a consider- 
able interest in me. In this way I became acquainted with 
many wagon-masters, hunters and teamsters, and learned a 
great deal about the business of handling cattle and mules. 

It was an excellent school for me, and I acquired a great 
deal of practical knowledge, which afterwards I found to be 
of invaluable service, for it was not long before I became 
employed by Majors & Russell, remaining with them in 
different capacities, for several years. 

The winter of 1853-5tt was spent by father at our little 
prairie home in cutting house logs and fence rails, M-hich he 
intended to use on his farm, as soon as the bill for the open- 
ing of the territory for settlement should pass. This bill, 
which was called the "Enabling act of Kansas territory," 
was passed in April, ISol, and father immediately pre- 
empted the claim on which we were living. 

The summer of that year was an exciting period in the 
history of the new territory. Thousands and thousands of 
people, seeking new homes, flocked "thither, a large number 
of the emigrants coming over from adjoining states. The 
Missourians, some of them, would come laden with bottles 



40 



LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 



of whisky, and after drinking the liquor would drive the 
bottles into the ground to mark their land claims, not wait- 
ing to put up any buildings. 

The Missourians, mostly, were pro-slavery men, and held 
enthusiastic meetings at which they expressed their desire 

that Kansas should be a slave 
state and did not hesitate to 



declare their determination 
to make it so. llively's store 
was the headquarters for 
these men, and there they 
[held their meetings. 

A t first the y thought 
~. father would coincide with 
them on account of his 
brother Elijah being a Mis- 
S, sonrian, but in this they were 
greatly mistaken. At one of 
their gatherings, when there 
were al)Out one hundred of 
the reckless men present, my 
father, who happened also 
to be there, was called upon 
for a speech. After consid- 
erable urging, he mounted 
the box and began speaking, as nearly as I can recollect, as 

follows : 

" Gentlemen and Fellow-citizens: You have called upon 
me for a speech, and I have accepted your invitation rather 
against my will, as my views may not accord with the senti- 
ments of the rest of this assembly. My remarks, at this 
time, will be brief and to the point. The question before 
us to-day is, shall the territory of Kansas be a free or a slave 
state. "The question of slavery in itself is a broad one, 
and one which I do not care at this time and place to discuss 
at length. I apprehend that your motive in calling upon me 




*i.„ 



^^^mfiti^-i 



STAKING 01;T LOTS. 



AN INDISCREET SPEECH. 41 

is to have me express my sentiments in regard to the intro- 
duction of slavery into Kansas. I shall gratify your wishes 
in that respect, I was one of the pioneers of the State of 
Iowa, and aided in its settlement when it was a territory, and 
helped to organize it as a state, 

" Gentlemen, I voted that it should be a white state — that 
negroes, whether free or slave, should never be allowed to 
locate within its limits ; and, gentlemen, I say to you now, 
and I say it boldly, that I propose to exert all ray power in 
making Kansas the same kind of a state as Iowa. I believe 
in letting slavery remain as it now exists, and I shall always 
oppose its further extension. These are my sentiments, gen- 
tlemen, and let me tell you " 

He never finished this sentence, or his speech. His 
expressions were anything l)ut acceptable to the rough-look- 
ing crowd, whose ire had been gradually rising to fever heat, 
and at this point they hooted and hissed him, and shouted, 
*• You black abolitionist, shut up ! " " Get down from that 
box ! " " Kill him ! " " Shoot him ! " and so on. Father, 
however, maintained his position on the drj'-goods box, not- 
withstanding the excitement and the numerous invitations to 
step down, imtil a hot-headed pro-slavery man, M'ho was in 
the employ of my Uncle Elijah, crowded up and said : " Get 
oif that box, you black abolitionist, or I'll pull you off." 

Father paid but little attention to him, and attempted to 
resume his speech, intending doubtless to explain his position 
and endeavor to somewhat pacify the angry crowd. But the 
fellow jumped up on the box, and pulling- out a huge bowie 
knife, stabbed father twice, who reeled and fell to the ground. 
The man sprang after him, and would have ended his life 
then and there, had not some of the better men in the crowd 
interfered in time to prevent him from carrying out his mur- 
derous intention. 

The excitement was intense, and another assault would 
probably have been made on my father, had not Rively hur- 
riedly carried him to his home. There was no doctor withia 



42 



LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 



any reasonable distance, and father at once requested that he 
be conveyed in the carriage to his brother Elijali's house in 
Weston. My mother and a driver accordingly went there 
with him, where his wounds were dressed. lie remained in 
Weston several weeks before he was able to stir about again, 
but he never fully recovered from the wounds, which event- 
ually proved the cause of his death. 

My uncle of course at once discharged the ruffian from his 




MT FATHEE STABBED. 



employ. The man afterwards became a noted desperado, 
and was quite conspicuous in the Kansas war.' 

My father's indiscreet speech at Kively's brought upon our 
family all of the misfortunes and difficulties which from that 
time on befell us. As soon as he was able to attend to his 
business again, the Missourians began to harass him in every 
possible way, and kept it up with hardly a moment's cessa- 
tion. Kickapoo City, as it was called, a small town that had 



MY FATHER DIllVEX FROM HOME. 



43 



sprung into existeiice seven miles np the river from Fort 
Leavenworth, became the hot-Led of the pro-slavery doctrine 
and the headquarters of its advocates. Here vi^as really the 
beginning^f the Kansas troubles. My father, who had 
shed the first blood in the cause of the freedom of Kansas, 
was notified, upon his return to his trading post, to leave the 
territory, and he was threatened with death by hanging or 
shooting, if he dared to remain. 

One night a body of armed men, mounted on horses, rode 




MY father's escape. 

np to our house and surrounded it. Knowing what they 
had come for, and seeing that there M^ould be but little 
chance for him in an encounter with them, father determined 
to make his escape by a little stratagem. Hastily disguising 
himself in mother's bonnet and shawl, he boldly walked out 
of the house and proceeded towards the corn-field. The 
darkness proved a great protection, as the horsemen, between 
whom he passed, were unable to detect him in his disguise ; 



44 . LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

supposing him to be a woman, tliey neithe-'- halted him nor 
followed him, and he passed safely on into the corn-field, 
where he concealed himself. 

The horsemen soon dismounted and inquired for father ; 
mother very truthfully told them that he was away. They 
were not satisfied with her statement, however, and they at 
once made a thorough search of the house. They raved and 
-swore when they could not find him, and threatened him 
with death whenever they should catch him. I am sure if 
they had captured him that night, they would have killed 
him. They carried off nearly everything of value in the 
house and about the premises; then going to the pasture, 
they drove off all the horses ; my pony Prince afterward 
succeeding in breaking away from them and came back 
home. Father lay secreted in the corn-field for three days, 
as there were men in the vicinity who were watching for 
him all the time ; he finally made his escape, and reached 
Fort Leavenworth in safety, whither the pro-slavery men did 
not dare to follow him. 

While he was staying at Fort Leavenworth, he heard that 
Jim Lane, Captain Cleveland and Captain Chandler were on 
their way from Indiana to Kansas with a body of Free State 
men, between two and three hundred strong. They were to 
cross the Missouri river near Doniphan, between Leaven- 
worth and Nebraska City ; their destination being Lawrence. 
Father determined to join them, and took passage on a steam- 
boat which was going up the river. Having reached the 
place of crossing, he made himself known to the leaders of 
the party, by whom he was most cordially received. 

The pro-slavery men, hearing of the ap]:»roaeh of the Free 
State party, resolved to drive them out of the territory. The 
two parties met at Hickory Point, where a severe battle was 
fought, several being killed ; the victory resulted in favor of 
the Free State men, who passed on to Law^rence without much 
further opposition. My father finally left them, and seeing 
that he could no longer live at home, went to Grasshopper 



A HOT PUIISUIT 



45 



Falls, thirty-five miles west of Leaveinvortli ; there he began 
the erection of a saw-mill. 

"While he was thus engaged we learned from one of our 
hired workmen at home, that the pro-slavery men had laid 
another plan to kill him, and were on their way to Grass- 
hopper Falls to carry out their intention. Mother at once 




started me off on 
Piince to warn father 
of the coming danger. 
AVI 'en I had gone 
about seven miles I 
suddenly came upon a 
party of men, w h o 
were camped a t the 
crossing of Stranger 
Creek. As I passed along I heard one of them, who recog- 
nized me, say, " That's the son of the old abolitionist we are 
after; " and the next moment I was commanded to halt. 

Instead of stopping I instantly started my pony on a run, 
and on looking ])ack I sa% that I was being pursued by three 
or four of the party, M'ho had mounted their horses, no 
doubt supposing that they could easily capture me. It was 



LIFE OR DKATH. 



46 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

very fortunate that I had lieard the remark ahout my being 
" the son of the abolitionist," for then I knew in an instant 
that they were en route to Grasshopper Falls to murder my 
father. I at once saw the importance of my escaping and 
warning father in time. It was a matter of life or death to 
him. So I urged Prince to his utmost speed, feeling that 
upon lum and myself depended a human life — a life that 
was dearer to me than that of any other man in the world. 
I. led my pursuers a lively chase for four or live miles; 
finally, when they saw they could not catch me, they re- 
turned to their camp. I kept straight on to Grasshopper 
Falls, arriving there in ample time to inform him of the 
approach of his old enemies. 

That same night iiither and. I rode to Lawrence, which had 
become the headquarters of the Free State men. There he 
met Jim Lane and several other leading characters, who were 
then organizing what was known as the Lecompton Legisla- 
ture. 

Father was elected as a member of that body, and took an 
active part in organizing the first legislature of Kansas, 
under Governor Reeder, who, by the M-ay, was a Free State 
man and a great friend of father's. 

About this time agents were being sent to the East to 
induce emigrants to locate in Kansas, and father was sent as 
one of these agents to Ohio. After the legislature had been 
organized at Lawrence, he departed for Oliio and was absent 
several months. 

A few days after he had gone, I started for home by the 
way of Fort Leavenworth, accompanied by two men, who 
were going to the fort on business. As we were crossing a 
stream called Little Stranger, Ave were fired upon by some 
unknown party; one of my companions, whose name has 
escaped my memory, was killed. The other man and myself 
put spurs to our horses and made a^dash for our lives. We 
succeeded in making our escape, though a farewell shot or 
two was sent after us. At Fort Leavenworth I parted com- 



OUK HOME IS KEPT. 47 

pany with my companion, and reached home without any 
further adventure. 

My mother and sisters, wlio had not heard of my father 
or myself since I had been sent to warn him of his danger, 
had become very anxious and uneasy about us, and were 
uncertain as to whether we were dead or alive. 1 received a 
warm welcome home, and as I entered the house, mother 
seemed to read from the expression of my countenance that 
father was safe ; of course the very first question she asked 
was as to his whereabouts, and in reply I handed her a long 
letter from him which explained everything. Mother blessed 
me again and affain for having saved his life. 

While fatlier was absent in Ohio, we were almost daily 
visited by some of the pro-slavery men, who helped them- 
selves to anything they saw fit, and frequently compelled my 
mother and sisters to cook for them, and to otherwise submit 
to a great deal of bad treatment. Hardly a day passed M'ith- 
out some of them inquiring " where the old man was," say- 
ing they would kill him on sight. Thus we passed the sum- 
mer of 1854, remaining at our home notwithstanding the 
unpleasant surroundings, as mother had made up her mind 
not to be driven out of the country. My uncle and other 
friends advised her to leave Kansas and move to Missouri, 
because they did not consider our lives safe, as we lived so 
near the headquarters of the pro-slavery men, who had 
sworn vengeance upon father. 

!Nothing, however, could persuade motlier to change her 
determination. She said tliat the pro-slavery men had taken 
everything except the land and the little home, and she pro- 
posed to remain there as long as she lived, happen what 
might. Our only friends in Salt Creek valley were two 
families ; one named Lawrence, the other Hathaway, and the 
peaceable Indians, who occasionally visited us. My uncle, 
living in Missouri and* being somewhat in fear of the pro- 
slavery men, could not assist us much, beyond expressing his 
sympathy and sending us provisions. 



48 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

i 

In the winter of 1854-55 father returned from Ohio, but 
as soon as his old enemies learned that he was with us, they 
again compelled him to leave. He proceeded to Lawrence, 
and there spent the winter in attending the Lecompton Legis- 
lature. The remainder of the year he passed mostly at 
Grasshopper Falls, where he completed his saw-mill. He 
occasionally visited home under cover of the night, and in 
the most secret manner; virtually carrying his life in his 
hand. 

In the spring of this year (1855) a pro-slavery party came 
to our house to search for father; not /inding him, they de- 
parted, taking with them my pony. Prince. I shall never 
forget the man who stole that pony. He afterwards rose 
from the low level of a horse thief to the high dignity of a 
justice of the peace, and I think still lives at Kickapoo. The 
loss of my faithful pony nearly broke my heart and bank- 
rupted me in business, as I had nothing to ride. 

One day, soon afterwards, I met my old friend, Mi-. Rus- 
sell, to whom I related all my troubles, and his generous 
heart was touched by m}^ story. " Billy, my boy," said he, 
" cheer up, and come to Leavenworth, and I'll employ you. 
I'll give you twenty-five dollars a month to herd cattle." 

I accepted the offer, and heartily thanking him, hurried 
home to obtain mother's consent. Slie refused to let me go, 
and all my pleading was in vain. Young as I was — being 
then only in my tenth year, my ideas and knowledge of the 
world, however, being far in advance of my age — I deter- 
mined to run away from home. Mr. Kussell's offer of twen- 
ty-five dollars a month was a temptation which I could not 
resist. The remuneration for my services seemed very large 
to me, and I accordingly stole away and walked to Leaven- 
worth. 

Mr. Badger, one of Mr. Kusseirs superintendents, imme- 
diately sent me out, mounted on a little gray mule, to herd 
cattle. I worked at this for two months, and then came into 
Leavenworth. I had not been home during all this time, but 



MY FIRST EARNINGS. 41> 

mother had learned from Mr. Russell where I was, and she 
no longer felt uneasy, as he had advised her to let me remaiu 
in his employ. He assured her that I was all right, and said 
that when the herd came in he would allow me to make a 
visit home. 

Upon my arrival in Leavenworth with the herd of cattle, 
Mr. Russell instructed his book-lc^eper, Mr. Byers, to pay me 
my wages, amounting to tifty dollars. Byers gave me the 
sum all in half-dollar pieces. I put the bright silver coins 
into a sack, which I tied to my mule, and started home, 
thinking myself a millionaire. This money I gave to 
mother, who had already forgiven me for running away. 

Thus began my service for the firm of Russell <Sc Majors, 
afterwards Russell, Majors & Waddell, with whom I spent 
eeven years of my life in different capacities — such as caval- 
lard-d river, wagon-master, pony express rider and driver. I 
continued to work for Mr. Russell during the rest of the 
summer of 1855, and in the winter of 1855-56 1 attended 
school. 

Father, who still continued to secretly visit home, was anx- 
ious to have his children receive as much of an education as 
possible, under the adverse circumstances surrounding us, and 
he employed a teacher, Miss Jennie Lyons, to come to our 
house and teach. My mother was well educated — more so 
than my father — and it used to worry her a great deal 
because her children could not receive better educational 
advantages. However, the little school at home got along 
exceedingly well, and we all made rapid advances in our 
studies, as Miss Lyons was an excellent teacher. She after- 
wards married a gentleman named Hook, who became the 
first mayor of Cheyenne, where she now lives. 

The Kansas troubles reached their highest pitch in the 
spring of 1856, and our family continued to be harassed as 
much as ever by our old enemies. I cannot now recol- 
lect one-half of the serious difficulties that we had to 
encounter ; but I very distinctly remember one incident well 



50 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

worth relating. I came home one night on a visit from 
Leavenworth, being accompanied bj a fellow-Iierder — a 
young man. During the night we heard a noise outside of 
tlie house, and soon the dogs began barking loudly. We 
looked out to ascertain the cause of the disturbance, and saw 
that the house was surrounded by a party of men. Mother 
had become accustomed to such occurrences, and on this 
occasion she seemed to be master of the situation from the 
start. Opening a window, she coolly sang out, in a firm 
tone of voice : " Who are you ? What do you want here ? " 

"We are after that old abolition husband of yours," was 
the answer from one of the crowd. 

" He is not in this house, and has not been here for along 
time," said my mother. 

" That's a lie ! We know he is in the house, and we are 
bound to have him," said the spokesman of the party. 

I afterwards learned they had mistaken the herder, who 
had ridden home with me, for my father for whom they had 
been watching. 

"My hnsband is not at home," emphatically repeated my 
heroic mother — for if there ever was a heroine she certainly 
was one — " but the house is full of armed men," continued 
she, "and I'll give you just two minutes to get out of the 
yard ; if you are not out by the end of that time I shall order 
them to fire on you." 

She withdrew from the window for a few moments and 
hurridly instructed the herder to call aloud certain names — 
any that he might think of — just as if the house was full of 
men to whom he was giving orders. He followed her di- 
rections to the very letter. He could not have done it any 
better had he rehearsed the act a dozen times. 

The party outside heard him, as it was intended they 
should, and they supposed that my mother really had quite 
a force at her command. While this little by play was being 
enacted, she stepped to the open window again and said : 

"John Green, you and your friends had better go away^or 
the men will surely fire on you." *' 



MY MOTHER'S BRAVERY. 51 

At this point the lierder, myself and my sisters commenc- 
ed stamping on the floor in imitation of a squad of soldiers, 
and the herder issued his orders in a lond voice to his imag- 
inary troops, who were apparently approaching the window 
j^repafatory to tiring a volley at the enemy. This little 
stratagem proved eminently successful. The cowardly 
villains began retreating, and then my mother tired an old 
gun into the air which greatly accelerated their speed, caus- 
ing them to break and run. They soon disappeared from 
view in the darkness. 

The next morning we accidentally discovei-ed that they 
had intended to blow up the house. Upon going into the 
cellar whieli had been left open on one side, we found two 
kegs of powder together with a fuse secreted there. It only 
required a lighted match to have sent us into eternity. My 
mother's presence of mind, which had never yet deserted 
her in any trying situation, had saved our lives. 

Shortly after this affair, 1 came home again on a visit and 
found father there sick with fever and confined to his bed. 
One da}' my old enemy rode up to the house on my pony 
Prince, which he had stolen from me. 

" What is your business here to-day ? " asked mother. 

"I am looking for the old man," he replied. "I am going 
to search the house, and if I find him I am going to kill 
him. Here, you girls," said he, addressing my sisters, " get 
me some dinner, and get it quick, too, for I am as hungry as 
a wolf." 

" Yery M^ell ; pray be seated, and we'll get ' you something 
to eat," said one of my sisters, without exhibiting the least 
sign of fear. 

He sat down, and while they were preparing a dinner for 
him, he took out a big knife and sharpened it on a whet- 
stone, repeating his threat of searching the house and killing 
my father. 

I had witnessed the whole proceeding, and heard the 
threats, and I determined that the man should never go up 
4 



52 



LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 



stairs where father was lying in bed, unable to rise. Taking a 
double-barreled pistol which I had recently bought, 1 weut 
to the head of the stairs, cocked the weapon, and waited for 
the ruffian to come up, determined, that the moment he set 
foot on the steps I would kill him. I was relieved, however, 
from the stern necessity, as he did not make his appearance. 

The brute was considerably intoxicated when he came to the 
house, and the longer he sat still the more his brain became 
muddled with liquor, and he actually forgot what he had 
come there for. After he had eaten his dinner, he mounted 
his horse and rode off, and it was a fortunate thing for him 
that he did. 

Father soon recovered and returned to Grasshopper Falls, 
while I resumed my cattle herding. 




CHAPTER IV. 

YOUTHFgL EXPERIENCES. 

IN Jiilj, 1856, the people living in the vicinity of our home 
— feeling the necessity of more extensive educational 
facilities for their children than they had yei; had — started a 
subscription school in a little log cabin on the bank of the 
creek, which for a while proved quite a cuccess. My mother 
being very anxious to have me attend this school, I acceded 
to her oft-repeated wishes, and returning home, I became a 
a pupil of the institution. I made considerable progress in 
my studies — such as they were — and was getting along very 
well in every other respect, until I became involved in my 
first love affair. 

Like all school-boys, I had a sweetheart with whom I was 
" dead in love " — in a juvenile way. Eer name was Mary 
Hyatt. Of course I had a rival, Stephen Gobel, a boy 
about three years my senior — the '* bully " of the school. 
He was terribly jealous, and sought in every way to revenge 
himself upon me for having won the childish affections of 
sweet little Mary. 

The boys of the school used to build play-houses or arbors 
among the trees and bushes for their sweethearts. I had 
built a play-house for Mary, when Steve, as we called him, 
leveled it to the ground. We immediately had a very lively 
fight, in which I got badly beaten. The teacher heard of our 



64 



LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL, 



quarrel and whipped i;s both. This made matters worse 
than ever, as I had received two thrashings to Steve's 
one ; I smothered my angry feelings as much as possible 
nnder the humiliating circumstances, and duripg the after- 
noon recess built another play-house, thinking that Gobel 
would not dare to destroy a second one ; but I was mis- 
taken, for he pushed the whole structure over at the first 
opportunity. I came up to him just as he finished the job, 

and said : 

"Steve Gobel, the 
next time you do that, 
I'll hurt you." And I 
meant it, too; but he 
laughed and called me 
names. 

At recess, next morn- 
ing, I began the construc- 
tion of still another play- 
house, and when I had it 
about two-thirds finished, 
Steve slyly sneaked up to 
the spot and tipped the 
whole thing over. I 
jumped for him with the 
quickness of a cat, and 
clutching him by the 
throat for a moment I had 
the advantage of him. 
But he was too strong for me, and soon had me on the ground 
and was beating me severely. While away from home I had 
someway come into possession of a very small pocket dagger, 
which I had carried about with me in its sheath, using it in 
place of a knife. During the struggle this fell from my 
pocliet, and my hand by accident rested upon it as it lay upon 
the ground. Exasperated beyond measure at Steve's persis- 
tence in destroying my play-houses, and smarting under his 




TWO TO ONE. 



A LOVE AFFAIR. 55 

blows, I forgot myself for the moment, grasped the dagger 
and unthinkingly thrust it into Steve's thigh. Had it been 
larger it would probably have injured him severely ; as it 
Avas, it made a small wound, sufficient to cause the blood to 
flow freely and Steve to cry out in affright : 

" I am killed ! O, I am killed ! " 

The school children all rushed to the spot and were terri- 
fied at the scene. 

" What's the matter ? " asked one. 

" Bill Cody has killed Steve Gobel," replied another. 

The uproar reached the teacher's ear, and I now saw him 
approaching, with vengeance in his eye and a*big club in his 
hand. I knew that he was coming to interview 7ne. I was 
dreadfully frightened at what I had done, and undecided 
whether to run away or to remain and take the conse- 
quences; but the sight of that flag-staff in the school 
teacher's hand was too much forme. I no longer hesitated, 
but started oft' like a deer. The teacher followed in hot 
pursuit, but soon became convinced that he could not catch, 
me, and gave up the chase, I kept on running, until I 
reached one of Russell, Major & Waddell's freight trains 
which I had noticed going over the hill for the west. 
Fortunately for me I knew the wagon-master, John Willis, 
and as soon as I recovered my breath I told him what had 
happened. 

" Served him right, Billy," said he, " and what's more 
we'll go over and clean out the teacher." 

" Oh, no ; don't do that," said I, for I was afraid that I 
might fall into the hands of the wounded boy's friends, who 
I knew would soon be looking for me. 

"Well, Billy, come along with me ; I am bound for Fort 
Kearney ; the trip will take me forty days. I want you for 
a cavallard driver." 

" All right," I replied, " but I must go home and tell 
mother about it, and get soTne clothes." 

" Well then, to-night after we make our camp, I'll go 
back with you." 



56 I^IFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

The aifray broke up tlie school for the rest of tlie day as 
the excitement was too much for the children. Late in the 
afternoon, after the train had moved on some consider- 
able distance, I saw Steve's father, his brother Frank, and 
one of the neighbors rapidly approaching. 

" Mr. Willis, there comes old Gobel, with Frank and some- 
body else, and they are after me — what am I going to do ? " 
I asked. 

" Let 'em come," said he, " they can't take you if I've got 
anything to say about it, and I rather think I have. Get 
into one of the wagons — keep quiet and lay low. I'll man- 
age this little job. Don't you fret a bit about it." 

1 obeyed his orders and felt much easier. 

Old Gobel, Frank and the neighbor soon came up and 
inquired for me. 

" He's around here somewhere," said Mr. "Willis. 

" We want him," said Gobel ; " he stabbed my son a little 
while ago, and I want to arrest him." 

" Well, you can't get him ; that settles it ; so you needn't 
waste any of your time around here," said Willis. 

Gobel continued to talk for a few minutes, but getting no 
greater satisfaction, the trio returned home. 

When night came, AVillis accompanied me on horseback to 
my home. ■ Mother, who had anxiously searched for me 
everywhere — being afraid that something had befallen me at 
the hands of the Gobels — was delighted to see me, notwith- 
standing the difficulty in which 1 had become involved. I 
at once told her that at present I was afraid to remain at 
home, and had accordingly made up my mind to absent 
myself for a few weeks or months — at least until the excite- 
ment should die out. Mr. Willis said to her that he would 
take me to Fort Kearney with him, and see that I was prop- 
erly cared for, and would bring me back safely in forty days. 

Mother at first seriously objected to my going on this trip 
fearing I would fall into the hands of Indians. Iler fears, 
however, were soon overcome, and she concluded to let me 



STEVE AlNi^ i ARE FRIENDS AGAIN. 57 

go. She fixed me up a big bundle of clothing and gave me 
a quilt. Kissing her and my sisters a fond farewell, I 
started ofl' on my first trip across the plains, and with a 
liirht heart too, notwithstanding mv trouble of a few hours 
before. 

The trip proved a most enjoyable one to me, although no 
incidents worthy of note occurred on the way. On my 
return from Fort Kearney I was paid ofi:' the same as the 
rest of the employees. The remainder of the summer and 
fall I spent in herding cattle and working for Russell, 
Majors tfe Waddell. 

I finally ventured home — not without some fear, however, 
of the Gobel family — and was delighted to learn that dur- 
ing my absence mother had had an interview with Mr. 
Gobel, and having settled the difiiculty with him, the two 
families had become friends again, and I may state, inciden- 
tally, that they ever after remained so. I have since often met 
Stephen Gobel, and we have had many a laugh together over 
our love affair and the affray at the school-house. Mary 
Hyatt, the innocent cause of the whole difficulty, is now 
married and living in Chicago. Thus ended my first love 
scr ipe. 

In the winter of 1856-57 my father, in company with a 
man named J. C. Boles, went to Cleveland, Ohio, and organ- 
ized a colony of about thirty families, M'hom they brought 
to Kansas and located on the Grasshopper. Several of these 
families still reside there. 

It M-as during this winter that father, after his return from 
Cleveland, caught a severe cold. This, in connection with 
tlie wound he had i-eceived at Rively's — from which he had 
never entirely recovered — afi'ected him seriously, and in 
April, 1857, he died at home from kidney disease. 

This sad event left my mother and the family in poor cir- 
cumstances, and I determined to follow the plains for a live- 
lihood for them and myself. I had no difficulty in obtaining 
work under my old employers, and in May, 1857, I started 



58 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

for Salt Lake City with a herd of beef cattle, in charge of 
Frank and Bill McCarthy, for General Albert Sidney John- 
son's army, which was then being sent across the plains to 
fight the Mormons. 

Nothing occurred to interrupt our journey until we 
reached Plum Creek, on "the South Platte river, thirty -five 
miles west of Old Fort Kearney. We had made a morning 
drive and had camped for dinner. The wagon-masters and 
a majority of the men had gone to sleej) under the mess 
wagons ; the cattle were being guarded by three men, and 
the cook was preparing dinner. No one had any idea that 
Indians were anywhere near ns. The first warning we 
had that they were infesting that part of the country was 
the firing of shots and the whoops and yells from a party of 
them, whoj catching us napping, gave us a most unwelcome 
surprise. All the men jumped to their feet and seized their 
guns. They saw with astonishment the cattle running in 
every direction, they having been stampeded by the Indians, 
who had shot and killed the three men who were on day- 
herd duty, and the red devils were now charging down upon 
the rest of us. 

I then thought of mother's fears of my falling into the 
hands of the Indians, and I had about made up my mind 
that such was to be my fate ; but when I saw how coolly and 
determinedly the McCarthy brothers were conducting them- 
selves and giving orders to the little band, I became con- 
vinced that we would " stand the Indians off," as the saying 
is. Our men were all well armed with Colt's revolvers and 
Mississippi yagers, which last, carried a bullet, and two buck- 
shots. 

The McCarthy boys, at the proper moment, gave orders 
to fire upon the advancing enemy. The volley checked 
them, although they returned the compliment, and shot one 
of our party through the leg. Frank McCarthy then sang 
out, " Boys, make a break for the slough yonder, and we 
can then have the bank for a breast-work." 





& 




KILLING MY FIRST INDIAN. 



I KILL MY FIRST INDIAN. Ql 

We made a run for the slough wliieh was onl^^ a short dis- 
tance off, and succeeded in safely reaching it, bringing with 
us the wounded man. The bank proved to be a very eflec- 
tive breast-work, affording us good protection. "We had 
been there but a short time when Frank McCarthy, seeing 
that the longer we were corraled the worse it would be for 
us, said : 

" Well, boys, we'll try to make our way back to Fort 
Kearney by wading in the river and keeping the bank for a 
breast-work." 

We all agreed that this was the best plan, and we accord- 
ingly proceeded down the river several miles in this way, 
managing to keep the Indians at a safe distance with our 
guns, until the slough made a junction with the main Platte 
river. From there down we found the river at times quite 
deep, and in order to carry the wounded man along with us, 
we constructed a raft of poles for his accommodation, and 
in this way he was transported. 

Occasionally the water would be too deep for us to wade, 
and we were obliged to put our weapons on the raft and 
swim. The Indians followed us pretty close, and were con- 
tinually watching for an opportunity to get a good range and 
give us a raking fire. Covering ourselves by keeping well 
under the bank, we pushed ahead as rapidly as possible, and 
made pretty good progress, the night finding us still on tlie 
way and our enemies still on our track. 

I being the youngest and smallest of the party, became 
somewhat tired, and without noticing it I had fallen behind 
the others for some little distance. It was about ten o'clock 
and we were keeping very quiet and hugging close to the 
bank, when I happened to look up to the moon-lit sky and 
saw the plumed head of an Indian peeping over the bank. In- 
stead of hurrying ahead and alarming the men in a quiet 
way, I instantlv aimed-'my gun at the head and fired. The 
report rang out sharp and loud on the night air, and was 
in)mediatcly followed by a' ^r^dian whoop, and the ^lext 



62 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

moment about six feet of dead Indian came tumbling into 
the river. I was not only overcome with astonishment, but 
was badly scared, as I could hardly realize what I had done. 
1 expected to see the whole force of Indians come down 
upon us. "While I was standing thus bewildered, the men, 
who had heard the shot and the war-whoop and had seen the 
Indian take a tumble, came rushing back. 

" Who tired that shot ? " cried Frank McCarthy. 

"I did," replied I, rather proudly, as my confidence re- 
turned and I saw the men coming up. 

" Yes, and little Billy has killed an Indian stone-dead — 
^ too dead to skin," said one of the men, who had approached 
nearer than the rest, and had almost stumbled upon the 
corpse. From that time forward I became a hero and an 
Indian killer. This was, of course, the first Indian I had 
ever shot, and as I was not then more than eleven years of 
age, my exploit created quite a sensation. 

The other Indians, upon learning what had happened to 
their " advance guard," set up a terrible howling, and fired 
several volleys at us, but without doing any injiuy, as we 
were so well protected by the bank. We resumed our jour- 
ney down the river, and traveled all night long. Just before 
daylight, Frank McCarthy crawled out over the bank and 
discovered that we were only five miles from Fort Kearney, 
which post we reached in safety in about two hours, — shortlj'^ 
after reveille — bringing the wounded man with us. It was 
indeed a relief to us all to feel that once more we were safe. 

Frank McCarthy immediately reported to the commanding 
officer and informed him of all that had happened. The 
commandant at once ordered a company of cavalry and one 
of infantry to proceed to Plum Creek on a forced march — 
taking a howitzer witli them — to endeavor to recapture the 
cattle from the Indians. 

The firm of Russell, Majors & Waddell had a division 
agent at Kearney, and this agent mounted us on mules so 



MY NAME IN THE PAPERS. (53 

that we could accompany the troops. On reaching the place 
where the Indians had surprised us, we found the bodies of 
the three men whom they had killed and scalped, and liter- 
ally cut into pieces. "We of course buried the remains. We 
caught but few of the cattle ; the most of them having been 
driven off and stampeded with the buffaloes, there being 
numerous immense herds of the latter in that section of the 
country at that time. The Indian's trail was discovered run- 
ning south towards the Republican river, and the troops fol- 
lowed it to the head of Plum Creek, and there abandoned it, 
returning to Fort Kearney without having seen a single 
red-skin. 

The company's agent, seeing that there was no further use 
for us in that vicinity — as we had lost our cattle and mules 
— sent us back to Fort Leavenworth. The company, it is 
proper to state, did not have to stand the loss of the expe- 
dition, as the government held itself responsible for such 
depredations by the Indians. 

On the day tii'vt I got into Leavenworth, sometime in July, 
I was interviewc ! for the first time in my life by a newspa- 
per reporter, a,ui the next morning I found my name in 
print as " the ycungest Indian slayer on the plains." I am 
candid enough to admit that I felt very much elated over 
this notoriety. Again and again I read with eager interest 
the long and se'- national account of our adventure. Mv 
exploit was related in a very graphic manner, and for a long 
time afterw i>,Js I was considerable of a hero. The reporter 
who had t'.iis set me up, as I tlien thought, on the highest 
pinnaclf A' fame, was John Hutchinson, and I felt very 
grat jf to him. He now lives iu Wichita, Kansas. 



CHAPTEE V. 



IN BUSINESS. 



IN the summer of 1857, Russell, Majors & Wsddell were 
sending a great many trains across the plai .s loSaltLake 
with supplies for General Johnston's army. Aen were in 
great demand, and the company was paying teamsters forty 
dollars per month in gold. An old and reliable wagon-master, 
named Lewis Simpson — who had taken a gr» at fancy to me, 
and who, by the way, was one of the he-:' wagon-masters 
tliat ever ran a bull train — was loading a ti mi. for the com- 
pany, and was about to start put with it fur Salt Lake. He 
asked me to go along as an " extra hand." The high wages 
that were being paid were a great inducement to me, and the 
position of an "extra hand" was a pleasi'nl one. All that I 
would have to do would be to take the plate of any man who 
became sick, and drive his wagon until he recovered. I 
would have my own mule to ride, and to a ce^^ain extent I 
would be a minor boss. 

My mother was very much opposed to my taking this long 
trip, as I would be absent nearly a year, and there wi^s a pos- 
sibility that something might arise to prevent me from ever 
coming back, as we could not then tell how the M n ion 
difficulty would terminate. Then again, owing to '^ ' • ' - 
ans, a journey over the plains in those days waf^ a y . 
undertaking. She. said that as I had recently returru . ■ 

64 



I FIND EMPLOYMENT. G5 

the plains, and had had a narrow escape from death at the 
hands of the Indians, she did not want me to risk mj life a 
second time. I told her that inasmuch as I had determined 
to follow the plains for an occupation, nothing could now 
stop me from going on this trij), and if it became necessary 
I would run away. 

Seeing that it was impossible to keep me at home, she 
reluctantly gave her consent, but not until she had called 
iipon Mr. Russell and Mr. Simpson in regard to the matter, 
and had obtained from the latter gentleman his promise that 
I should be well taken care of, if we had to Avinter in the 
mountains. She did not like the appearance of Simpson, 
and upon inquiry she learned, to her dismay, that he was a 
desperate character, and that on nearly every trip he had 
made across the plains he had killed some one. Such a man, 
she thought, was not a lit master or companion for her son, 
and she was very anxious to have me go M^ith some other 
wagon-master ; but I still insisted upon remaining with 
Simpson. 

" Madam, I can assure you that Lew. Simpson is one of the 
most reliable wagon-masters on the plains," said Mr. Rus- 
sell, " and he has taken a great fancy to Billy. If your boy 
is bound to go, he can go with no better man. No one will 
dare to impose on him while he is with Lew. Simpson, whom 
I will instruct to take good care of the boy. Upon reaching 
Fort Laramie, Billy can, if he wishes, exchange places with 
some fresh man coming back on a returning train, and thus 
come home without making the whole trip." 

This seemed to satisfy mother, and then she had a long 
talk with Simpson himself, imploring him not to forget his 
promise to take good care of her precious boy. He prom- 
ised everything that she asked. Thus, after much trouble, I 
became one of the members of Simpson's train. Before 
taking our departure, 1 arranged with Russell, Majors & 
Waddell that when my pay should fall due it should be paid 
over to mother. . 



66 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

As a matter of interest to tlie general reader, it may be 
well in tins connection to give a brief description of a freight 
train. The wagons used in those days by Russell. Majors & 
Waddell were known as the " J. Murphy wagons," made at 
St. Louis specially for the plains business. They were very 
large and were strongly built, being capable of carrying seven 
thousand pounds of freight each. The wagon-boxes were 
very commodious — being as large as the rooms of an ordi- 
nary house — and were covered with two heavy canvas sheets 
to protect the merchandise from the rain. These wagons 
were generally sent out from Leavenworth, each loaded with 
six thousand pounds of freight, and each drawn by several 
yokes of oxen in charge of one driver. A train consisted of 
twenty-five wagons, all in charge of one man, who was 
known as the wagon-master. The second man in command 
was the assistant wagon-master ; then came the " extra 
hand," next the night herder ; and lastly, the cavallard 
driver, whose duty it was to drive the lame and loose cattle. 
There were thirty-one men all told in a train. The men did 
their own cooking, being divided into messes of seven. One 
man cooked, another brought wood and water, another stood 
guard, and so on, each having some duty to perform while 
getting meals. All were heavily armed with Colt's pistols 
and Mississippi yagers, and every one always had his weaj)- 
ons handy so as to be prepared for any emergency. 

The wagon-master, in the language of the plains, was 
called the " bull-wagon boss " ; the teamsters were known as 
" bull-whackers " ; and the whole train was denominated a 
" bull-outfit," Everything at that time was called an " out- 
fit." The men of the plains were always full of droll 
humor and exciting stories of their own experiences, and 
many an hour I spent in listening to the recitals of thrilling 
adventures and hair-breadth escapes. 

Kussell, Majors & Waddell had in their employ two hun- 
dred and fifty trains, composed of 6,250 wagons, 75,000 
oxen, and about eight thousand men ; their business reaching 




Mdti 



ji 



m 






1 II i 



lb 






:A'^ 



l!„'l!l!!ii 



7 



THE SALT LAKE TRAIL. 69 

to all the government frontier posts in the north and west, 
to which they transported supplies, and they also carried 
freight as far south as Kew Mexico. 

The trail to Salt Lake i"an through Kansas to the north- 
west, crossing the Big Bhie river, then over the Big and 
Little Sandy, coining into Kehraska near the Big Sandy. 
The next stream of any importance was the Little Blue, 
along which the trail ran for sixty miles; then crossed a 
range of sand-hills and struck the Platte river ten miles 
below Old Fort Kearney ; thence the course lay up the South 
Platte to the old Ash Hollow Crossing, thence eighteen 
miles across to the North Platte — near the mouth of the 
Blue Water, where General Harney had his great battle in 
1855 with the Sioux and Cheyenne Indians. From thi& 
point the North Platte was followed, passing Court House 
Rock, Chimney Pock and Scott's Bluffs, and then on to Fort 
Laramie, where the Laramie Piver was crossed. Still fol- 
lowing the North Platte for some considerable distance, the 
trail crossed this river at old Richard's Bridge, and followed 
it up to the celebrated Red Buttes — crossing the Willow 
creeks to the Sweet Water, passing the great Independence 
Rock and the Devil's gate, up to the Three Crossings of the 
Sweet Water, thence past the Cold Springs, where, three 
feet under the sod, on the hottest day of summer, ice can be 
found ; thence to the Hot Springs and the Rocky Ridge, and 
through the Rocky Mountains and Echo Canon, and thence 
on to the Great Salt Lake valle3% 

We had started on our trip with everything in good shape, 
following the above described trail. During the first week 
or two out, I became well acquainted with most of the train 
men, and with one in particular, who became a life-long and 
intimate friend of mine. His real name was James B. 
Hickok ; he afterwards became famous as " Wild Bill, the 
Scout of the Plains " — though why he was so called I never 
could ascertain — and from this time forward I shall refer to 
him by his popular nickname. He was ten years my senior 



70 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

— a tall, handsome, magnificently built and powerful young 
fellow, who could out-run, out-jump and out-tight any man 
in the train. He was generally admitted to be the best man 
physically, in the employ of E.ussell, Majors & Waddell ; 
and of his bravery there was not a doubt. General Custer, 
in his "Life on the Plains," thus speaks of Wild Bill: 

" Among the white scouts were numbered some of the 
most noted of their class. The most prominent man among 
them was ' Wild Bill,' whose highly varied career was made 
the subject of an illustrated sketch in one of the popular 
monthly periodicals a few years ago. ' Wild Bill ' was a 
strange character, just the one which a novelist might gloat 
over. He was a plains-man in every sense of the word, yet 
unlike any other of his class. In person he was about six 
feet and one inch in height, straight as the straightest of the 
warriors whose implacable foe he was. He had broad 
shoulders, well-formed chest and limbs, and a face strikingly 
handsome ; a sharp, clear blue eye, which stared you straight 
in the face when in conversation; a finely-shaped nose, in- 
clined to be aquiline ; a well-turned mouth, with lips only- 
partially concealed by a handsome moustache. His hair and 
complexion were those of the perfect blonde. The former 
was worn in. uncut ringlets, falling carelessly over his power- 
fully formed shoulders. Add to this figure a costume 
blending the immaculate neatness of tlie dandy with the 
extravagant taste and style of the froiitiersman, and you 
have Wild Bill. * * * * AVhethei-' on foot or on horseback, 
he was one of the most perfect types of physical manhood I 
ever saw. 

" Of his courage there could be no question ; it had been 
brought to the test on too many occasions to admit of a 
doubt. His skill in the use of the pistol and rifle was unerr- 
ing ; while his deportment was exactly the opposite of what 
might be expected from a man of his surroundings. It was 
entirely free from all bluster or bravado. He seldom spoke 
himself unless requested to do so. His conversation, strange 



WILD BILL. 



71 



to say, never bordered either on the vulgar or blasphemous. 
His influence among the frontiersmen was unbounded, his 
word was law ; and many are the personal quarrels and 
disturbances which he has checked among his comrades by 
his simple announcement that ' This has gone far enough,' — 
if need be followed by the ominous warning that when per- 
sisted in or renewed the quarreler ' must settle it with me.' 

"Wild Bill was 
anything but a 
quarrelsome man; 
3'et no one but him- 
self could enumerate 
the many conflicts 
in which he had been 
engaged, and which 
had almost always 
resulted in the death 
of his adversary. I 
have a personal 
knowledge of at 
least half a dozen 
men whom he had 
a t various times 
killed, one of these being at the time a member of my com- 
mand. Others had been severely wounded, yet he always 
escaped unhurt. 

" On the plains every man openly carries his belt with its 
invariable appendages, knife and revolver — often two of 
the latter. Wild Bill always carried two handsome ivory- 
handled revolvers of the large size ; he was never seen with- 
out them. * * * * Yet in all the many afi'airs of this 
kind in which Wild Bill has performed a part, and which 
have come to my knowledge, there was not a single instance 
in which the verdict of twelve fair-minded men would not 
have been pronounced in his favor." 

Such is the faithful picture of Wild Bill as drawn by 




WILD BILL. 



72 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

General Custer, who was a close observer and student of 
personal character, and under whom Wild Bill served as a 
scout. 

The circumstances under which I lirst made his acquaint- 
ance and learned to know him M'ell and to appreciate his 
manly character and kind-heartedness, were these. One of 
the teamsters in Lew. Simpson's train was a sui'ly, overbear- 
ing fellow, and took particular delight in bullyiDg and tyr- 
annizing over me, and one day while we were at dinner he 
asked me to do something for liim. I did not start at once, 
and he gave me a slap in the face with the back of liis hand, 
— knocking me off an ox-yoke on which I was sitting, and 
sending me sprawling on the ground. Jumping to my feet 
I picked up a camp kettle full of boiling coffee which was 
setting on the fire, and threw it at him, I hit him in the 
face, and the hot coffee gave him a severe scalding. He 
sprang for me with the ferocity of a tiger, and would un- 
doubtedly have torn me to pieces, had it not been for the 
timely interference of my new-found friend. Wild Bill, who 
knocked the man down. As soon as he recovered himself, 
he demanded of Wild Bill what business it was of his that 
he should " put in his oar." " It's my business to protect that 
boy, or anybody else, horn being unmercifully abused, 
kicked and cuffed, and I'll whip any man who tries it on,'^ 
said Wild Bill ; " and if you ever again la}'- a hand on that 
boy — little Billy there — I'll give you such a pounding that 
you won't get over it for a month of Sundays." From that 
time forward Wild Bill was -my protector and intimate 
friend, and the friendship thus begun continued until his 
death. 

Nothing transpired on the trip to delay or give us any 
trouble whatever, until the train struck the South Platte 
river. One day we camped on the same ground where the 
Indians had surprised the cattle herd, in charge of the Mc- 
Carty brothers. It was with difficulty that we discovered 
any traces of anybody ever having camped there before, the 



BUFFALOES ON THE RAMPAGE. Y3 

only landmark being the single grave, now covered with 
grass, ill which we had buried the three men who had been 
killed. The country was alive with buffaloes. Vast herds 
of these monarchs of the plains were roaming all around us, 
and we laid over one day for a grand hunt. Besides killing 
Cjuite a number of buffaloes, and having a day of rare sport, 
we captured ten or twelve head of cattle, they being a por- 
tion of the herd which had. been stampeded by the Indians, 
two months before. The next day we pulled out of camp, 
and the train was strung out to a considerable length along 
the road which ran near the foot of the sand-hills, two miles 
from the river. Between the road and the river we saw a 
large herd of buffaloes grazing quietly, they having been 
down to the stream for a drink. 

Just at this time we observed a party of returning Califor- 
nians coming from the West. They, too, noticed the buffalo 
herd, and in another moment they were dashing down upon 
them, urging their steeds to the greatest speed. The buffalo 
herd stampeded at once, and broke for the hills ; so hotly 
were they pursued by the hunters that about five hundred of 
them rushed througli our train pell-mell, frightening both 
men and oxen. Some of the wagons were turned clear 
round, and many of the terrified oxen attempted to run to 
the hills, with the heavy wagons attached to them. Others 
turned around so short that they broke the wagon tongues 
off. Nearly all the teams got entangled in their gearing, and 
became wild and unruly, so that the perplexed drivers were 
unable to manage them. 

The buffaloes, the cattle, and the drivers, were soon run- 
ning in every direction, and the excitement upset nearly 
everybody and everything. Many of the cattle broke their 
yokes and stampeded. One big buffalo bull became entan- 
gled in one of the heavy wagon-chains, and it is a fact that 
in his desperate efforts to free himself, he not only actually 
snapped the strong chain in two, but broke the ox-yoke to 
which it was attached, and the last seen of him he was run- 



V4 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

ning towards the hills with it hanging from his horns. A 
dozen other equally remarkable incidents happened during 
the short time that the frantic buffaloes were playing havoc 
with our train, and when they had got through and left us, 
our outfit was very badly crippled and scattered. This 
caused us to go into camp and spend a day in replacing the 
broken tongues, and repairing other damages, and gathering 
up our scattered ox-teams. 

The next day we rolled out of camp, and proceeded on 
our way towards the setting sun. Everything ran along 
smoothly with us from that point until we came within 
about eighteen miles of Green river, in the Rocky moun- 
tains—where we camped at noon. At this place we had to 
drive our cattle about a mile and a half to a creek to water 
them. Simpson, his assistant, George "Woods and myself, 
accompanied by the usual number of guards, drove the cat- 
tle over to the creek, and while on our way back to camp, 
we suddenly observed a i>arty of twenty horsemen rapidly 
approaching us. We were not yet in view of our wagons, 
as a rise of ground intervened, and therefore we could not 
signal the train-men in case of any unexpected danger 
befalling us. We had no suspicion, however, that we were 
about to be trapped, as the -strangers were white men. 
When they had come up to us, one of the party, who evi- 
dently was the leader, rode out in front and said : 

" How are you, Mr. Simpson ? " 

"You've got the best of me, sir," said Simpson, who did 
not know him. 

" Well, I rather think 1 have," coolly replied the stranger, 
whose words conveyed a double meaning, as we soon learned. 
We had all come to a halt by this time, and the strange 
horsemen had surrounded .us. They were all armed with 
double-barreled shot guns, rifles and revolvers. We also were 
armed with revolvers, but we had had no idea of danger, and 
these men, much to our surprise, had "got the drop" on us, 
and had covered us with their weapons, so that we were 



CAPTURED BY THE DANITES. 75 

completely at their mercy. The whole movement of corral- 
ing us was done so quietly and quickly that it was accom- 
plished before we knew it. 

" I'll trouble you for your six shooters, gentlemen/' now 
said the leader. 

" I'll give 'em to you in a way you don't want,'' replied 
Simpson. 

Tlie next moment three guns were leveled at Simpson. 
" If you make a move you're a dead man," said the leader. 

Simpson saw that he was taken at a great disadvantage, 
and thinking it; advisable not to risk the lives of the party 
by any rash act on his part, he said : "I see now that you 
have the best of me, but who are you, anyhow ?" 

"I am Joe Smith," was the reply. 

" What ! the leader of the Danites ? " asked Simpson. 

"You are correct," said Smith, for he it was. 

" Yes," said Simpson, "■ I know you now ; you are a spy- 
ing scoundrel." 

Simpson liadgood reason for calling him this and applying 
to him a mucli more approbrious epithet, for only a short 
time before this, Joe Smith had vi?ited our train in the dis- 
guise of a teamster, and had remained with us two days. He 
suddenly disappeared, no one knowing where he had gone 
or why he had come among us. But it was all explained to 
us now that he had returned with his Mormon Danites. 
After they had disarmed us, Simpson asked, " Well, Smith, 
what are you going to do with us ? " 

" Ride back with us and I'll soon show you," said Smith. 

We had no idea of the'^surprise which awaited us. As we 
came upon the top of the ridge, from wiiich we could view 
our camp, we were astonished to see tlie remainder of the 
train men disarmed and stationed in a group and surrounded 
by another squad of Danites, while other Mormons were 
searching our wagons for such articles as they wanted. 

" How is this ? " inquired Simpson. " How did you sur- 
prise my camp without a struggle ? I can't understand it." 



76 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

"Easily enough," said Smith ; "your men were all asleep 
under the wagons, except the cooks, who saw ns coming and 
took ns for returning Californians or emigrants, and paid no 
attention to ns nntil m'o rode np and surrounded your train. 
With our arms covering tlie men, we woke them up, and 
told them that all they had to do was to walk out and drop 
their pistols — which they saw was the best thing they could 
do under circumstances over which they had no control — 
and you can just bet they did it." 

"And what do you proj^ose to do with us now?" asked 
Simpson. 

"I intend to burn your train," said he; "you are loaded 
with supplies and ammunition for Sidney Johnson, and as I 
liave no way to convey the stuff to my own people, I'll see 
that it does not reach the United States troops." 

" Are you going to turn us adrift here ? " asked Simpson, 
who was anxious to learn what was to become of himself 
and his men. 

"No; I hardly am as bad as that. I'll give you enough 
provisions to last you until you can reach Fort Bridger," re- 
plied Smith ; " and as soon as your cooks can get the stuff 
out of the wagons, you can start." 

"On foot?" was the laconic inquiry of Simpson. 
"Yes sir," was the equally short reply. 
"Smith, that's too rough on us men. Put yourself in our 
place and see how you M-ouldlike it," said Simpson; "you 
can well afford to give us at least one wagon and six yokes of 
oxen to convey lis and our clotliing and provisions to Fort 
Bridger. You're a brute if you don't do this." 

" Well," said Smith, after consulting a luinute or two with 
some of his company, " I'll do tJiatmuch for you." 

The cattle and the wagon were brought up according to 
his orders, and the clothing and provisions were loaded on. 
"Now you can go," said Smith, after everything had been 
arranged. 

" Joe Smith, 1 think you are a mean coward to set us 



THE MARCH TO FORT BRIDGER. 77 

afloat in a hostile country, without giving- us our arms," said 
Simpson, who had once before asked for the weapons, and 
had had his request denied. 

Smith, after further consultation M^th his comrades, said : 
" Simpson, you are too brave a man to be turned adrift here 
without any means of defense. You shall have your revol- 
vers and guns." Our weapons were according!}'- handed over 
to Simpson, and we at once started for Fort Bridger, knowing 
that it would be useless to attempt the recapture of our 
train. 

When we had traveled about two miles we saw the smoke 
arising from our old camp. The Mormons after taking 
what goods they wanted and could carry off, had set fire to 
the wagons, many of which were loaded with bacon, lard, 
hard-tack, and other provisions, which made a very hot, 
fierce fire, and the smoke to roll up in dense clouds. Some 
of the wagons were loaded with ammunition, and it was not 
long before loud explosions followed in rapid succession. 
We waited and witnessed tlie burning of the train, and then 
j^ushed on to Fort Bridger. Arriving at this post, we learned 
that two other trains had been captured and destroyed in the 
eame way, by the Mormons. This made seventy -five wagon 
loads, or 450,000 pounds of supplies, mostly provisions, 
which never reached General Johnson's command, to which, 
they had been consigned. 



CHAPTER VI. 



HARD TIMES. 



AS it was getting very late in the fall, we were compelled 
to winter at Fort Bridger ; and a long, tedious winter it 
was. There were a great many troops there, and about four 
hundred of Russell, Majors & Waddell's employees. These 
men were all organized into militia companies, which 
were officered by the wagon-masters. Some lived in tents, 
others in cabins. It was known that our supplies would run 
short during the winter, and so all the men at the post were 
put on three-quarter rations to begin Avith ; before long they 
were reduced to one-half rations, and finally to one-quarter 
rations. We were forced to kill our poor worn-out cattle for 
beef. They were actually so poor that we liad to prop them 
up to shoot them down. At last we fell back on the mules, 
which were killed and served up in good style. Many a 
poor, unsuspecting government mule passed in his chips that 
winter in order to keep the soldiers and bull-whackers from 
starvation. 

It was really a serious state of affairs. The wood for the 
post was obtained from the mountains, but having no longer 
any cattle or mules to transport it, the men were obliged to 
haul it themselves. Long lariats were tied to the wagons, 
and twenty men manning each, they were pulled to and 
from the mountains. "Notwithstanding all these hardships, 
the men seemed to be contented and to enjoy themselves. 

78 



JUMPED BY INDIANS. 79 

The winter finally passed away, and early in the spring, as 
soon as we could travel, the civil euiployees of the govern- 
ment, with the teamsters and freighters, started for the Mis- 
souri river; the Johnson expedition having been abandoned. 

On the way down we stopped at Fort Laramie, and there 
met a supply train bound westward. Of course we all had a 
square meal once more, eoneisting of hard tack, bacon, coffee 
and beans. I can honestly say that I thought it was the best 
meal I had ever eaten ; at least I relished it more than any 
other, and I think the rest of the party did the same. 

On leaving Fort Laramie, Simpson was nuide brigade 
wagon-master, and was put in charge of two large trains, 
with about four hundred extra men, who were bound for 
Fort Leavenworth. When we came to Ash Hollow, instead 
of taking the usual trail over to the South Platte, Simpson 
concluded to follow the IS^orth Platte down to its junction 
with the South Platte. The two trains were traveling about 
fifteen miles apart, when one morning while Simpson was 
with the rear train, he told his assistant wagon-master, 
George Woods and myself to saddle up our mules, as he 
M'anted us to go with him and overtake the head train. 

We started off at about eleven o'clock, and had ridden 
about seven miles when — while we were on a big pla- 
teau, back of Cedar Bluffs — we suddenly discovered a band 
of Indians coming out of the head of a ravine, half a mile 
distant, and charging down upon us at full speed. I thought 
that our end had come this time, sure. Simpson, however, 
took in the situation in a moment, and knowing that it 
would be impossible to escape by running our played-out 
mules, he adopted a bolder and much better plan. He 
jumped from his own mule, and told us to dismount also. 
He then shot the three animals, and as they fell to the 
ground he cut their throats to stop their kicking. He then 
jerked them into the shape of a triangle, and ordered ns 
inside of the barricade. 

All this was but the M'ork of a few moments, yet it was 



30 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

not done any too soon, for the Indians liad got within three 
hundred yards of us, and were still advancing, and uttering 
their demoniacal yells or war-whoops. There were forty of 
the red-skins and only three of us. We were each armed 
with a Mississippi yager and two Colt's revolvers. 

"Get ready for them with your guns, and w^hen they 
come within fifty yards, aim low, blaze away and bring 
down your man ! " 

Such was the quick command of Simpson. The words 
liad hardly escaped from his mouth, wheri the three yagers 
almost simultaneously belched forth their contents. We 
then seized our revolvers and opened a lively fire on the 
enemy, at short range, which checked their advance. Then 
"we looked over our little barricade to ascertain what eft'ect 
our fire had produced, and were much gratified at seeing 
three dead Indians and one horse lying on the ground. 
Only two or three of the Indians, it seemed, had fire-arras. 
It must be remembered that in those days every Indian did 
not own a needle gun or a Winchester rifle, as they now do. 
Their principal weapons were their bows and arrows. 

Seeing that they could not take our little fortification, or 
drive us from it, they circled around us several times, shoot- 
ing their arrows at us. One of the arrows struck George 
Wood in the left shoulder, inflicting only a slight wound, 
however, and several lodged in tiie bodies of the dead 
mules ; otherwise they did us no harm. 

The Indians finally galloped off to a safe distance, where 
our bullets could not reach them, and seemed to be holding 
a council. This M-as a lucky move for us, for it gave us an 
opportunity to reload our guns and pistols, and prepare for 
the next charge of the enem3^ During the brief cessation 
of hostilities, Simpson extracted the arrow from Wood's 
shoulder, and put aji immense quid of tobacco on the 
wound. W^ood was then ready for business again. 

The Indians did not give us a very long rest, for with an- 
other desperate charge, as if to ride over us, they came dash- 




HOLDING THE FORT. 



WE HOLD THE FORT. , 83 

ing towards the innle barricade. We gave tliein a hot recep- 
tion from our yagers and revolvers. They could not stand, 
or understand, the rapidly repeating fire of the revolvers, 
and we again checked them. They circled around us once 
inore and gave us a few parting shots as they rode ofl', leav- 
ing behind them another dead Indian and a horse. 

For two hours afterwards they did not seem to be doing 
anything but holding a council. We made good use of this 
time by digging up the ground inside the bai-ricade with our 
knives and throwing the loose earth around and over the 
mules, and we soon had a very respectable foi'tification. We 
were not troubled anv more that dav, but duriuij the nio-lit 
the cunning rascals tried to burn us out by setting fire to the 
prairie. The buffalo grass was so short that the fire did not 
trouble us much, but the smoke concealed the Indians from 
our view, and they thought that they could approach close to 
us without being seen. We were aware of this, and kept a 
sharp look-out, being prepared all the time to receive them. 
They finally abandoned the idea of surprising us. 

Kext n:iorning, bright and early, they gave us one more 
grand charge, and again we " stood them off." They then 
rode away half a mile or so, and formed a circle around us. 
Each man dismounted and sat down, as if to wait and starve 
us out. They had evidently seen the advance train pass on 
the morning of the previous day, and believed that we l.)e- 
longed to that outfit and were trying to overtake it ; they 
had no idea that another train was on its way after us. 

Our hopes of escape from this unpleasant and perilous situ- 
ation now depended upon the awi^yal of the rear train, and 
when we saw that the Indians were going to besiege us 
instead of renewing their attacks, we felt rather confident of 
receiving timely assistance. We had expected that the train 
would be along late in the afternoon of the previous dav, 
and as the morning wore away we were somewhat anxious 
and uneasy, at its non-arrival. 

At last, about ten o'clock, we beo;an to hear in the distance 



84 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

the loud and sharp reports of the big bull-whips, which were 
handled with great dexterity by the teamsters, and cracked 
like rifle shots. These were as welcome sounds to us as were 
the notes of the bag-pipes to the beseiged garrison at Luck- 
now, when the reinforcements were coming up and the 
pipers were heard playing, '• The Campbells are Coming." 
In a few moments we saw the lead or head wjigon coming 
slowly over the ridge, which had concealed the train from 
our view, and soon the whole outfit made its appearance. 
The Indians observed the approaching train, and assembling 
in a group the}'' held a short consultation. They then 
charged upon us once more, for the last time, and as they 
turned and dashed away over the prairie, we sent our fare- 
well shots rattling after them. The teamsters, seeing the 
Indians and hearing the shots, came rnshing forward to our 
assistance, but by the time they reached us the red-skins had 
almost disappeared from view. The teamsters eagerly asked 
us a hundred questions concerning our fight, admired our 
fort and praised our pluck, Simpson's remarkable presence 
of mind in planning the defense was the general topic of 
conversation among all the men. 

When the teams came up we obtained some water and 
bandages with which to dress Wood's wound, which had be- 
come quite inflamed and painful, and we then put him into 
one of the wagons. Simpson and myself obtained a remount, 
bade good-bye to our dead mules which had served us so 
••w'-ell, and after collecting the ornaments and other plunder 
from the dead Indians, we left their bodies and bones to 
bleach on the prairie. The train moved on again and we 
had no other adventures, except sevei-al exciting buflfalo 
hunts on the South Platte, near Plum Creek. 

We arrived at Fort Leavenworth about the middle of 
July, 1858, when I immediately visited home. I found 
mother in very poor health, as she Avas suffering from 
asthma. My oldest sister, Martha, had, during my absence, 
been married to John Crane, and Avaslivino; at Leavenw^orth. 



TRAPPING ON THE CHUGWATER. 85 

During the winter at Fort Bridger I liad frequently talked 
with Wild Bill about my family, and as I had become greatly 
attached to him I asked him to come and make a visit at our 
house, which he promised to do. So one day, shortly after 
our return from Fort Bridger, he accompanied me home 
from Leav^enworth. My mother and sisters, who had heard 
&o much about him from me, were delighted to see him and 
he spent several weeks at our place. They did everything 
possible to repay him for his kindness to me. Ever after- 
wards, when he was at or near Leavenworth, Wild Bill came 
out to our house to see the family, whether I was at home or 
not, and he always received a most cordial reception. His 
mother and sisters lived in Illinois, and he used to call our 
house his home, as he did not have one of his own. 

I had been home only about a month, after returning from 
Fort Bridger, when I again started out Avith another train, 
going this time as assistant wagon-master under Buck Bomer. 
We went safely through to Fort Laramie, which was our 
destination, and from there we were ordered to take a load 
of supplies to a new post called Fort Wallach, which was 
being established at Cheyenne Pass. We made^this trip' and 
got back to Fort Laramie about November 1st. I then quit 
the employ of Russell, Majors & AVaddell, and joined a 
party of trappers who were sent out by the post trader, Mr. 
Ward, to trap on the streams of the Chugwater and Lara- 
mie for beaver, otter, and other fur animals, and also to 
poison wolves for their pelts. We were out two months, but 
as the expedition did not prove very profitable, and was 
rather dangerous on account of the Indians, we abandoned 
the enterprise and came into Fort Laramie in the latter part 
of December. 

Being anxious to return to the Missouri river, I joined 
with two others, named Scott and Charley, who were also 
desirous of going East on a visit, bought three ponies and a 
pack-mule, and we started out together. We made rapid 
progress on our journey, and nothing worthy of note happened 



gg LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

until one afternoon, along the banks of the Little Blue Elver, 
we spied a band of Indians hunting on the opposite side of 
the stream, three miles away. We did not escape their notice, 
and they gave us a lively chase for two hours, but they could 
find no good crossing, and as evening came on we finally got 
awa}' from them. 

We traveled until late in the night ; when upon discovering 
a low, deep ravine which we thought would make a comfort- 
able and safe camping-place, we stopped for a rest. In 
searching for a good place to make our bed§, I found a hole, 
and I called to my companions that I had found a fine 
place for a nest. One of the party was to stand guard while 
the others slept. Scott took the first watch, while Charley 
and I made a bed in the hole. 

While clearing out the place we felt something rough, but 
as it was dark we could not make out what it was. At any 
rate we concluded that it was bones or sticks of wood ; we 
thought perhaps it might be the bones of some animal which 
had fallen in there and died. These bones, for such they 
really proved to be, we pushed one side and then we lay 
down. But Charley, being an inveterate smoker, could not 
resist the temptation of indulging in a smoke before going 
to sleep. So he sat up and struck a match to light his old 
pipe. Our subterranean bed-chamber was thus illuminated 
for a moment or two ; I sprang to my feet in an instant for 
a ghastly and horrifying sight was revealed to us. Eight or 
ten human skeletons lay scattered upon the ground. 

The light of the match died out, but we had seen enough 
to convince us that we were in a large grave, into which, 
perliaps, some unfortunate emigrants, who had been killed 
by the Indians, had been thrown ; or, perhaps, seeking ref- 
uge there, they had been corraled and then killed on the 
spot. If such was the case, they had met the fate of thous- 
ands of others, whose friends have never jieard of them 
since they left their eastern homes to seek their fortunes in 
the Far West. However, we did not care to investigate this 




CAMPING IN A SEPULCHRE. 



>Wi5j 



BADLY SCARED. 89 

mystery any further, but we hustled out of that chamber of 
death and informed Scott of our discover}-. Most of the 
plains-men are very superstitious, and xe were no exception 
to the general rule. AVe surely thought that this incident 
was an evil omen, and that we would be killed if we remained 
there any longer. 

" Let ns dig out of here quicker than we can say Jack 
Robinson," said Scott ; and we began to "dig out" at once. 
We saddled our animals and hurriedly pushed forward 
through the darkness, traveling several miles before we again 
went into camp. Next morning it was snowing fiercely, but 
we proceeded as best we could, and that night we succeeded 
in reaching Oak Grove ranch, which had been built during 
the summer. We here obtained comfortable accommoda- 
tions and plenty to eat and drink — especially the latter. 

Scott and Charley were great lovers and consumers of 
" tanglefoot," and they soon got gloriously druidc, keeping it 
up for three days, during which time they gambled with tlje 
ranchmen, Avho got away with all their money ; but little 
they cared for that, as they had their spree. They finally 
sobered up, and we resumed our journey, urging our jaded 
animals as much as they could stand, until we struck Marys- 
ville, on the Big Blue. From this place to Leavenworth we 
secured first-rate accommodations along the road, as the coun- 
try had become pretty well settled. 

It was in February, 185d, that I got home. As there was 
now a good school in the neighborhood, taught by Mr. 
Divinny, my mother wished me to attend it, and I did so for 
two months and a half — the longest period of schooling that 
I ever received at any one time in my life. As soon as the 
spring came and the grass began growing, I became uneasy 
and discontented, and again longed for the free and open life 
of the plains. 

The Pike's Peak gold excitement was then at its height* 
and everybody was rushing to the new gold diggings. I 



90 



LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 



caught the gold-fever myself, and joined a party bound for 
the new town of Auraria, on Cherry Creek, afterwards 
called Denver, in honor of the then governor of Kansas. On 
arriving at Auraria we pushed on to the gold streams in the 
mountains, passing up through Golden Gate, and over Guy 
Hill, and thence on to Black Hawk. We prospected for two 
months, but as none of us knew anything about mining we 
met with very poor success, and we iinally concluded that 




RAFTING ON THE PLATTE. 



prospecting for gold was not, our forte. We accordingly 
abandoned the enterprise and turned our faces eastward once 
more. 

When we struck the Platte River, the happy thought of 
constructing a small raft — which would float us clear to the 
Missouri and thence down to Leavenworth — entered our 
heads, and we accordingly carried out the plan. Upon the 
completion of the raft we stocked it with provisions, and 



RIDING PONY EXPRESS. 91 

" set sail " down the stream. It was a light craft and a jolly 
crew, and all was smooth sailing for four or five days. 

When we got near old Julesburg, we met with a serious 
mishap. Our raft ran into an eddy, and quick as lightning 
went to pieces, tlirowing us all into the stream, which was so 
deep that we had to swim ashore. We lost everything we 
had, which greatly discouraged us, and we thereupon aban- 
doned the idea of rafting it any farther. We then walked 
over to Julesburg, which was only a few miles distant. This 
ranch, which became a somewhat famous spot, had been 
established by ." Old Jules," a Frenchman, who was after- 
wards killed by the notorious Alf. Slade. 

The great pony express, about which so much has been 
said and written, was at that time just being started. The 
line was being stocked with horses and put into good run- 
ning condition. At Julesburg I met Mr. George Clirisman, 
the leading wagon-master of Russell, Majors & Waddell, 
who had always been a good friend to me. He bad bought 
out " Old Jules," and was then the owner of Julesburg 
ranch, and the agent of the pony express line. He hired 
me at once as a pony express rider, but as I was so young he 
thought I would not be able to stand the fierce riding which 
was required of the messengers. He knew, however, tbat I 
had been raised in the saddle — that I felt more at home there 
than in any other place — and as he saw that I was confident 
that I could stand the racket, and could ride as far and endure 
it as well as some of the older riders, he gave me a sbort 
route of forty-five miles, with the stations fifteen miles apart, 
and three changes of liorses. I M-as required to make fifteen 
miles an hour, including the changes of horses. I was 
fortunate) in getting well-broken animals, and being so 
light, I easily made my forty-five miles on time on my 
first trip out, and ever afterwards. 

I wrote to mother and told her how well I liked the 
exciting life of a pony express rider. She replied, and 
G 



92 



LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 



begged of me to give it up, as it would surely kill me. She 
■was right about this, as fifteen miles an hour on horseback 
would, in a short time, shake any man " all to pieces " ; and 
there were but very few, if any, riders who could stand it 
for any great length of time. Nevertheless, I stuck to it for 
two months, and then, upon receiving a letter informing me 
that my mother was very sick, I gave it up and- went back to 
the old home in Salt Creek Valley. 




CHAPTER VII. 

ACCIDENTS AND ESCAPES. 

MY restless, roaming spirit would not allow me to remain 
at home very long, and in November, after the recov- 
ery of my mother, I went up the Republican River and its 
tributaries on a trapping expedition in company with Dave 
Harrington. Our outfit consisted of one wagon and a yoke 
of oxen for the transportation of provisions, traps, and other 
necessaries. We began trapping near Junction City, Kansas, 
and then proceeded up the Republican River to the mouth of 
Prairie Dog Creek, where we fonnd plenty of beavers. 

Having seen no signs of Indians thus far, we felt compara- 
tively safe. We were catching a large number of beavers 
and were prospering finely, when one of our oxen, having 
become rather poor, slipped and fell upon the ice, dislocating 
his hip, so that we had to shoot him to end his misery. This 
left us without a team ; but we cared little for that, however, 
as we had made up our minds to remain there till spring, when, 
and it was decided, that one of us should go to the nearest 
settlement and get a yoke of oxen with which to haul our 
wagon into some place of safety where we could leave it. 

We would probably have pulled through the winter all 
right had it not been for a very serious accident which befell 
me just at that time. Spying a herd of elk, we started in 
pursuit of them, and creeping up towards them as slyly as 

93 



94 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

possible, while going around the bend of a sharp bluff or 
bank of the creek I slipped and broke my leg just above the 
ankle. Notwithstanding the great pain I was sufl'ering, 
Harrington could not help laughing when I urged him to 
shoot me, as he had the ox, and thus end my misery. He 
told me to " brace up," and that he would bring me out 
" all right." 

"I am not much of a surgeon," said he, "but lean fix 
that leg of yours, even if I haven't got a diploma." 

He succeeded in getting me back to camp, which was only 
a few yards from the creek, and then he set the fracture as 
well as he knew how, and made me as comfortable as was 
possible under the circumstances. We then discussed the 
situation, which to say the least, looked pretty blue. Know- 
ing that, owing to our mishaps, we could not do anything 
more that winter, and as I dreaded the idea of lying there 
on my back with a broken leg for weeks, and perhaps months, 
I prevailed upon Harrington to go the nearest settlement — 
about 125 miles distant — to obtain a yoke of cattle, and then 
come back for me. 

This he consented to do ; but before leaving he gathered 
plenty of wood, and as the ground M^as covered M'ith snow, I 
would have no difficulty in getting water if I had a fire. 
There was plenty of fresh meat and other provisions in the 
" dug-out," so that I had no fears of starvation. The " dug- 
out," which we had built immediately after we had deter- 
mined to remain there all winter, was a very cosy hole in. 
the ground, covered with poles, grass and sod, with a fire- 
place in one end. 

Harrington thought it would take him twenty days or 
more to make the round trip ; but being well provided for — 
for this length of time — I urged him to go at once. Bidding 
me good-bye he started on foot. After his departure, each 
day, as it came and went, seemed to grow longer to me as I 
lay there helpless and alone. I made a note of each day, so 
as to know the time when I might expect him back. 




SAVED BY CHIEF RAIN-IN-THE-FACE. 



A DESPERATE SITUATION. 97 

On the twelfth day after Harrington left me, I was awak- 
ened from a sound sleep by some one touching me upon the 
shonlder. 1 looked up and was astonished to see an Indian 
warrior standing at my side. His face was hideously daubed 
with paint, which told me more forcibly than words could 
have done that he was on the war-path. He spoke to me in 
broken English and Sioux mixed, and I understood him to ask 
what I was doing there, and how many there were with me. 

By this time the little dug-out was nearly tilled with other 
Indians, who had been peeping in at the door, and I could 
hear voices of still more outside as well as the stamping of 
horses. I began to think that my time had come, as the say- 
ing is, when into the cabin stepped an elderly Indian, whom 
1 readily recognized as old Rain-in-the-Face, a Sioux chief 
from the vicinity of Fort Laramie. I rose np as well as I 
could and showed him my broken ]eg. I told him where I 
had seen him, and asked him if he remembered me. He 
replied that he knew me well, and that I nsed to come to his 
lodge at Fort Laramie to visit him. I then managed to make 
him understand that I was there alone and having broken 
my leg, I had sent my partner off for a team to take me 
away. I asked him if his young men intended to kill me, 
and he answered, that was what they had proposed to do, but 
he would see what they had to say. 

The Indians then talked among themselves for a few min- 
utes, and upon the conclusion of the consultation, old Rain- 
in-the-Face turned to me and gave me to understand that as 
I was yet a " papoose," or a very young man, they would not 
take my life. But one of his men, who had no fire-arras, 
wanted my gun and pistol. I implored old Eain-in-the-Faee 
to be allowed to keep the weapons, or at least one of them, 
as I needed something with which to keep the wolves away. 
He replied" that as his young men were out on the war path, 
he had induced them to spare my life ; but he could not 
prevent them from taking w'hat ever else they wanted. 

They unsaddled their horses as if to remain there for some 



98 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

time, and sure enough they stayed the remainder of tlie day 
and ail night. They built a fire in the dug-out and cooked a 
lot of my provisions, helping themselves to everything as if 
they owned it. However, they were polite enough to give 
me some of the food after they had cooked it. It was a 
sumptuous feast that they had, and they seemed to relish it 
as if it was the best lay-out they had had for many a long 
day. They took all my sugar and coifee, and left me only 
some meat and a small quantity of flour, a little salt and 
some baking powder. They also robbed me of such cooking 
utensils as they wished ; then bidding me good-bye, early in 
the morning, they mounted their ponies and rode off to the 
south, evidently bent on some murdering and thieving expe- 
dition. 

I was glad enough to see them leave, as my life had un- 
doubtedly hung by a thread during their presence. 1 am 
confident that had it not been for my youth and the timely 
recognition and interference of old Rain-in-the-Face they 
would have killed me without any hesitation or ceremony. 

The second day after they had gone it began snowing, and 
for three long and weary days the snow continued to fall 
thick and fast. It blocked the door- way and covered the 
dug-out to the depth of several feet, so that I became a snow- 
bound prisoner. My wood was mostly under the snow, and 
it was with great difficulty that I could get enough to start a 
fire with. My prospects were gloomy indeed. I had just 
faced death at the hands of the Indians, and now I was in 
danger of losing my life from starvation and cold. I knew 
that the heavy snow would surely delay Harrington on his 
return ; and I feared that he might have perished in the 
storm, or that some other accident might have befallen him. 
Perhaps some wandering band of Indians had run across him 
and killed him. 

I was continually thinking of all these possibilities, and I 
must say that my outlook seemed desperate. At last the 
twentieth day arrived — the day on which Harrington was to 



A JOYOUS MEETING. 99 

return — and I counted the liours from morning till night, 
but the day passed away with no signs of Harrington. 
The wolves made the night hideous with their howls ; they 
gathered around the dug-out ; ran over the roof ; and pawed 
and scratched as if trying to get in. 

Several days and nights thus wore away, the monotony 
all the time becoming greater, until at last it became almost 
unendurable. Some days I would go without any fire at all, 
and eat raw frozen meat and melt snow in my mouth for 
water. I became almost convinced that Harrington had been 
cauffht in the storm and had been buried under the snow, or 
was lost. Many a time during that dreary period of uncer- 
tainty, I made up my mind that if I ever got out of that 
place alive, I would abandon the plains and the life of a 
trapper forever. I had nearly given up all hopes of leaving 
the dug-out alive. 

It was on the twenty-ninth day, while I was lying thus 
despondently thinking and wondering, that I heard the cheer- 
ful sound of Harrington's voice as he came slowly up the 
creek, yelling, " whoa ! haw ! " to his cattle. A criminal on 
the scaffold, with the noose around his neck, the trap about 
to be sprung, and receiving a pardon just at the last moment, 
thus giving him a new lease of life, could not have been 
more grateful than I was at that time. It was useless for 
me to try to force the door open, as the snow had completely 
blockaded it, and I therefore anxiously awaited Harrington's 
arrival. 

" Hello ! Billy ! " he sang out in a loud voice as he came 
up, he evidently being uncertain as to my being alive. 

" All right, Dave," was my reply. 

" Well, old boy, you're alive, are you ? " said he. 

"Yes; and that's about all. I've had a tough siege of it 
since you've been away, and I came pretty nearly passing in 
my chips. I began to think you never would get here, as I 
was afraid you had been snowed under," said I, 

He soon cleared away the snow from the entrance, and 



100 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

opening the door he came in. 1 don't think there ever was 
a more welcome visitor than he was. I remember that I was 
so glad to see him that 1 put my arms around his neck and 
hugged him for live minutes ; never shall I forget faithful 
Dave Harrington. 

" Well, Billy, my boy, 1 hardly expected to see you alive 
again," said Harrington, as soon as I had given him an oppor- 
tunity to draw his breath ; " I had a terrible trip of it, and I 
didn't think I ever would get through. 1 was caught in the 
snow-storm, and was laid up for three days. The cattle wan- 
dered away, and I came within an ace of losing them alto- 
gether. When 1 got started again the snow was so deep 
that it prevented me from making much headway. But as I 
had left you here I was bound to come through, or die in the 
attempt." 

Again I flung my arms around Dave's neck and gave him 
a hug that would have done honor to a grizzly bear. My 
gratitude was thus much more forcibly expressed than it 
could have been by words. Harrington understood this, and 
seemed to appreciate it. The tears of joy rolled down my 
chteeks, and it was impossible for me to restrain them. When 
my life had been threatened by the Indians I had not felt 
half so miserable as when I lay in the dug-out thinking I 
was destined to die a slow death by starvation and cold. 
The Indians would have made short work of it, and would 
have given me little or no time to think of my fate. 

I questioned Harrington as to his trip, and learned all the 
details. He had passed through hardships W'hich but few 
men could have endured. Noble fellow, that he was. He 
had risked his own life to save mine. 

After he had finished his story, everj^ word of which I had 
listened to with eager interest, I related to him my own 
experiences, in which he became no less interested. He 
expressed great astonishment that the Inditnis had not killed 
me, and he considered it one of the luckiest aivl most 
remarkable escapes he had ever heard of. It amused me, 



ON THE ROAD HOME. 101 

However, to see him get very angry -when 1 told him that 
they had taken my gun and piotul and had used up our pro- 
visions. " But never mind, Billy," said he, " we can stand 
it till the snow goes oti", which will not be long, and then we 
will pull our wagon back to the settlements." 

A few days afterwards Harrington gatliered up our traps, 
and cleaned the snow out of the wagon. Covering it with 
the sheet which we had used in the dug-out, he made a com- 
fortable bed inside, and helped me into it. We had been 
quite successful in trapping, having caught three hundred 
heavers and one hundred otters, the skins of which Harring- 
ton loaded on the wagon. We then pulled out for the set- 
tlements, making good headway, as the snow had nearly dis- 
appeared, having been blown or melted away, so that we had 
no difficulty in finding a road. On the eighth day out we 
came to a farmer's house, or ranch, on the Republican River, 
where we stopped and rested for tM'O days, and then M'ent on 
to the ranch where Harrington had obtained the yoke of 
cattle. We gave the owner of the team twentj^-five beaver 
skins, equal to $60, for the use of the cattle, and he let us 
have'them until we reached Junction City, sending his boy 
with us to bring them back. 

At Junction City we sold our wagon and furs and w^ent 
with a government mule train to Leavenworth — arriving 
there in March, 1860. I was just able to get around on 
crutches when I got into Leavenworth, and it was several 
niontks after that before I entirely recovered the use of 
ray leg. 

During the winter I had often talked to Harrington about 
my mother and sisters, and had invited him to go home with 
me in the spring. I now renewed the invitation, wliich he 
accepted, and accompanied me home. When I related to 
mother my adventures and told her how Harrington had 
saved my life, she thanked him again and again. I never saw 
a more grateful woman than she was. She asked'him to always 
make his home with us, as she never could reward him suffi- 



102 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

cientlj for what he had done for her 'darling boy, as she 
called me. Harrington concluded to remain with iis through 
the summer and farm mother's land. But alas ! the uncer- 
tainty of life. The coming of death when least expected 
was strikingly illustrated in his case. During the latter part 
of April he went to a nursery for some trees, and w'hile com- 
ing home late at night he caught a severe cold and was taken 
seriously sick, with lung fever. Mother did everything in 
her power for him. She could not have done more had he 
been her own son, but notwithstanding her motherly care 
and attention, and the skill of a physician from Leaven- 
worth, he rapidly grew worse. It seemed hard, indeed, to 
think that a great strong man like Harrington, who had 
braved the storms, and endured the other hardships of the 
plains all winter long, should, during the warm and beauti- 
ful days of spring, when surrounded by friends and the com- 
forts of a good home, be fatally stricken down. But such 
■was his fate. He died one week from the day on which he 
was taken sick. We all mourned his loss as we would that 
of a loved son or brother, as he was one of the truest, brav- 
est, and best of friends. Amid sorrow and tears we laid him 
away to rest in a picturesque spot on Pilot Knob. His death 
cast a gloom over our household, and it was a long time 
before it was entirely dispelled. I felt very lonely without 
Harrington, and I soon wished for a change of scene again. 



CHAPTER yill. 

ADVEXTURES ON THE OVERLAND ROAD. 

AS the warm days of summer approached I longed for the 
cool- air of the mountains ; and to the mountains I 
determined to 2:0. After eno^agino; a man to take care of the 
farm, I proceeded to Leavenworth and there met my old 
wagon-master and friend, Lewis Simpson, who was fitting out 
a train at Atchison and loading it with supplies for the 
Overland Stage Company, of which Mr. Russell, my old 
employer, was one of the proprietors. Simpson was going 
with this train to Fort Laramie and points iurther west. 

" Come along with rae, Billy," said he, " Til give you a 
good lay-out. I want you with me." 

" I don't know that I would like to go as far west as that 
again," replied I, " but I do want to ride the pony express 
once more; there's some life in that." 

" Yes, that's so ; but it will soon shake the life out of you," 
said he. " However, if that's what you've got your mind set 
on, you had better come to Atchison with me and see Mr. 
Eussell, who I'm pretty certain, will give you a situation." 

I replied that I would do that. I then went home and 
informed mother of my intention, and as her health was very 
poor I had great diflBcultyin obtaining her consent. I finally 
convinced her that as I was of no use on the farm, it would be 

103 



104 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

better and more profitable for me to return to the plains. 
So after giving her all the money I had earned by trapping, 
I bade her good-bye and set out for Atchison, 

I met Mr. Russell there and asked him for employment as 
a pony express-rider ; he gave nie a letter to Mr. Slade, 
who was then the stage agent for the division extending 
from Julesburg to Rocky Ridge. Slade had his headquarters 
at Horseshoe Station, thirty-six miles west of Fort Laramie 
and I made the trip thither in company with Simpson and 
his train. 

Almost the very first person I saw after dismounting from 
my horse was Slade. I walked up to him and presented Mr. 
Russell's letter, which he hastily opened and read. With a 
sweeping glance of his eye he took my measure from head 
to foot, and then said : 

" My boy, you are too young for a pony express-rider. It 
takes men for that business." 

" 1 rode two months last year on Bill Trotter's division, 
sir, and filled the bill then ; and I think I am better able to 
ride now," said I. 

" What ! are you the boy that was riding there, and was 
called the youngest rideV on the road ? " 

"I am the same boy," I replied, confident that everything 
was now all right for me. 

" I have heard of you before. You are a year or so older 
now, and I think you can stand it. I'll give you atrial any- 
liow, and if you Aveaken you can come back to Horseshoe 
Station and tend stock.*' 

That ended our first interview. The next day he assigned 
me to duty on the road from Red Buttesonthe North Platte, 
to the Three Crossings of the Sweetwater — a distance of 
seventy-six miles — and I began riding at once. It was along 
piece of road, but I was equnl to the undertaking; and soon 
afterwards had an opportunity to exhibit my power of en- 
durance as a pony express rider. 

One day when I galloped into Three Crossings, my home 



A LONG RIDE. 



105 



station, I found that the rider who was expected to take the 
ti'ip out on my arrival, had got into a drunken row the night 
before and had been killed ; and that there was no one to fill 
his place. I did not hesitate for a moment to undertake an 

extra ride of eighty- 
tive miles toliocky 
Ridge, and I arriv- 
ed at the latter 
ilace on time. I 
then turned back 
and rode to Red 
Buttes, my starting 
place, accomplish- 
in s: on the round 




I IMJIEUIATELY CHANGED HORSES. 



trip a distance of 322 miles. 

Slade heard of this feat of mine, and one day as he was 
passing on a coach he sang out to me, " My boy, you're a 
brick, and no mistake. That was a good run you made when 
you rode your own and Miller's routes, and I'll see that you 
get extra pay for it." 

Slade, although rough at times and always a dangerous 
character — having killed many a man — was always kind to 
me. During the two years that I worked for him as pony 
express-rider and stage-driver, he never spoke an angry w'ord 
to me. 

As I was leaving Horse Creek one day, a party of fifteen 
Indians "jumped me " in a sand ravine about a mile west 
of the station. They fired at me repeatedly, but missed 
their mark. I was mounted on a roan California horse — 
the fleetest steed I had. Putting spurs and wdiip to him, 
and lying flat on his back, I kept straight on for Sweetwater 
Bridge — eleven miles distant — instead of trying to turn back 
to Horse Creek. The Indians came on in hot pursuit, but 
my horse soon got away from them, and ran into the station 
two miles ahead of them. The stock-tender had been killed 
there that morning, and all the stock had been driven off by 



106 



LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 



tlie Indians, and as I was therefore unable to change korses, 
I continued on to Ploutz's Station — twelve miles further — 
thus making twenty-four miles straight run with one horse. 
I told the people at Ploutz's what had happened at Sweet- 
water Bridge, and with a fresh horse went on and finished 
the trip without any further adventure. 

About the middle of September the Indians became very 
troublesome on the line of the stage road along the Sweet- 




ATTACK ON STAGE COACH. 

water. Between Split Kock and Three Crossings they 
robbed a stage, killed the driver and two passengers, and 
badly wounded Lieut. Plowers, the assistant division agent. 
The red-skinned thieves also drove off the stock from the 
different stations, and were continually lying in wait for the 
passing stages and pony express-riders, so that we had to 
take many desperate chances in running the gauntlet. 

The Indians ]iad now become so bad and had stolen so 



A HUNT FOR INDIANS. 107 

mucli stock that it was decided to stop the pony express for 
at least six weeks, and to run the stages but occasionally 
during that period ; in fact, it would have been almost im- 
possible to have run the enterprise much longer without re- 
stocking the line. 

While we were thus nearly all lying idle, a part}^ was 
organized to go out and search for stolen stock. This party 
was composed of stage-drivers, express-riders, stock-tenders, 
and ranchmen — forty of them altogether — and they were 
well-armed and well-mounted. They M^ere mostly men who 
had undergone all kinds of hardships and braved every dan- 
ger, and they were ready and anxious to '' tackle " any num- 
ber of Indians. Wild Bill (who had been driving stage on 
the road and had recently come down to our division) was 
elected captain of the company. 

It was supposed that the stolen stock had been taken to 
the head of Powder River and vicinity, and the party, of 
which I was a member, started out for that section in high 
hopes of success. 

Twenty miles out from Sweetwater Bridge, at the head of 
Horse Creek, we found an Indian trail running north towards 
Powder River, and m'c could see by the tracks that most of 
the horses had been recently shod and were undoubtedly our 
stolen stage stock. Pushing rapidly forward, we followed 
this trail to Powder River ; thence down this stream to 
within about forty miles of the spot where old Fort Reno 
now stands. Here the trail took a more westerly course 
along the foot of the mountains, leading eventually to Crazy 
Woman's Fork — a tributary of Powder River. At this 
point we discovered that the part}' whom we were trailing 
had been joined by another band of Indians, and, judging 
from the fresh appearance of the trail, the united body could 
not have left this spot more than twenty -four hours before. 

Being aware that we were now in the heart of the hostile 
country and that we might at any moment find more Indians 
than we had " lost," we advanced with more caution than 



108 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

usual, and kept a sharp lookout. As we were approaching 
Clear Creek, another tributary of Powder river, we discov- 
ered Indians on the opposite side of the creek, some three 
miles distant ; at least Ave saw horses grazinir, which was a 
sure sign that there were Indians there. 

The Indians thinking tlieinselves in comparative safety — 
never before having been followed so far into their own 
country by white men — had neglected to put out any scouts. 
They had no idea that there were any white men in that 
part of tiie country. "We got the lay of their camp, and 
then held a council to consider and mature a plan for captur- 
ino- it. We knew full well that the Indians would outnum- 
ber us at least tliree to one, and perhaps more. Upon the 
advice and suggestion of Wild Bill, it was finally decided 
that we should wait until it was nearly dark, and then, after 
creeping as close to them as possible, make a dash through 
their camp, open a general fire on them, and stampede the 
horses. 

This plan, at the proper time, was most successfully exe- 
cuted. The dash upon the enemy was a complete surprise 
to them. They were so overcome with astonishment that 
they did not know what to make of it. We could not have 
astonished them any more if we had dropped down into their 
camp from the clouds. They did not recover from the sur- 
prise of this sudden charge until after we had ridden pell- 
mell through their camp and got away with our own horses 
as well as theirs. We at once circled the horses around 
towards the south, and after getting them on the south side 
of Clear Creek, some twenty of our men — just as the dark- 
ness was coming on — rode back and gave the Indians a few 
parting shots. We then took up our line of march for 
Sweetwater Bridge, where we arrived four days afterwards 
with all of our own horses and about one hundred captured 
Indian ponies. 

The expedition had j^roved a grand success, and the event 
was celebrated in the usual manner — by a grand spree. 



A GRAND SPREE. 



109 



The only store at Sweetwater Bridge did a rushing business 
for several days. The returned stock-hunters drank, and 
gambled and fought. The Indian ponies, which had been 
distributed among the captors, passed from hand to hand at 
almost eery deal of the cards. There seemed to be no 
limit to the rioting, and carousing ; revelry reigned supreme. 
On the third day of the orgie, Slade, who had heard the 
news, came up to the bridge and took a hand in tlie " fun,'^ 
as it was called. To add some variation and excitement to 




ALF. SLADE KILLING THE DRITER. 



the occasion, Slade got into a quarrel with a stage-driver and 
shot him, killing him almost instantly. 

The " boys " became so elated as well as " elevated " over 
their success against the Indians, that most of them were in 
favor of going back and cleaning out the whole Indian race. 
One old driver especially, Dan Smith, was eager to open a 
war on all the hostile nations, and had the drinking been 
continued another week he certainly would have undertaken 
the job, single-handed and alone. The spree finally came 
to an end ; the men sobered down and abandoned the idea 
of again invading the hostile country. The recovered 
7 



110 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

horses were replaced on the road, and the stages and pony 
express were again running on time, 

Slade, having taken a great fancy to ine, said : " Billy, 
I want you to come down to my headquarters, and I'll make 
you a sort of supernumerary rider, and send you out only 
when it is necessary." 

I accepted the offer, and went with him down to Horse- 
shoe, where I had a comparatively easy time of it. I had 
always been fond of hunting, and I now had a good opportu- 
nity to gratify my ambition in that direction, as I had plenty 
of spare time on my hands. In this connection I will relate 
one of my bear-hunting adventures. One day, when I had 
nothing else to do, I saddled up an extra pony express horse, 
and arming myself with a good rifle and pair of revolvers, 
struck out for the foot hills of Laramie Peak for a bear-hunt. 
Kiding carelessly along, and breathing the cool and bracing 
autumn air which came down from the mountains, I felt as 
only a man can feel who is roaming over the prairies of the 
far "West, well armed, and mounted on a fleet and gallant 
steed. The perfect freedom which he enjoys is in itself a 
refreshing stimulant to the mind as well as to the body. Such 
indeed were my feelings on this beautiful day, as I rode up 
the valley of the Horseshoe. Occasionally 1 scared up a 
flock of sage-hens or a jack-rabbit. Antelopes and deer were 
almost always in sight in any direction, but as they were not 
the kind of game I was after, on that day, I passed them by, 
and kept on towards the higher mountains. The further I 
rode the rougher and M'ikler became the country, and I knew 
that I was approaching tlie haunts of the bear. I did not 
discover any, however, although I saw plenty of tracks in the 
snow. 

About two o'clock in the afternoon, my horse having 
become tired, and myself being rather weary, I shot a sage- 
hen, and dismounting, I unsaddled my horse and tied him to 
a small tree, where he could easily feed on the mountain 
grass. I then built a little fire, and broiling the chicken 



MY BEAR HUNT. HI 

and seasoning it with salt and pepper, which I had obtained 
from my saddle-bags, I soon sat down to a " genuine square 
meal," which 1 greatly relished. 

After resting for a couple of hours, I remounted and 
resumed my upward trip to the mountains, having made up 
my mind to camp out that night rather than go back without 
a bear, which my friends knew I had gone out for. As the 
days were growing short, night soon came on, and I looked 
around for a suitable camping place. While thus engaged, I 
scared up a flock of sage-hens, two of which I shot, intend- 
ing to have one for supper and the other for breakfast. 

By this time it was becoming quite dark, and I rode down 
to one of the little mountain streams, where I found an open 
place in the timber suitable for a camp. I dismounted, and 
after unsaddling my horse and hitching him to a tree, I 
prepared to start a fire. Just then I was startled by hearing 
a horse whinnying further up the stream. It was quite a 
surprise to me, and I immediately ran to my animal to keep 
him from answering, as horses usually do in such cases. I 
thought that the strange horse might belong to some roaming 
band of Indians, as I knew of no white men being in that 
portion of the country at that time. I was certain that the 
owner of the strange horse could not be far distant, and I 
was very anxious to find out who my neighbor was, before 
letting him know that I was in his vicinity. I therefore re- 
saddled my horse, and leaving him tied so that I could easily 
reach him I took niy gun and started out on a scouting ex- 
pedition up the stream. I had gone about four hundred yards 
when, in a bend of the stream, I discovered ten or fifteen 
horses grazing. 

On the opposite side of the creek a light was shining 
high up the mountain bank. Approaching the mysterious 
spot as cautiously as possible, and when witlyn a few yards 
of the light — which I discovered came from a dug-oiWt'in the 
mountain side— I heard voices, and soon I was able to distin- 
guish the words, as they proved to be in my own language. 



112 . LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

Then I knew that the occupants of the dug-out, whence the 
voices proceeded, were white men. Thinking that thej 
might be a party of tiappers, I boldly walked up to the door 
and knocked for admission. The voices instantly ceased, and 
for a moment a deathlike silence reigned inside. Then there 
seemed to follow a kind of hurried whispei'ing — a sort of 
consultation — and then some one called out: 

" Who's there ? " 

"A friend and a white man," 1 replied. 

The door opened, and a big, ngly-looking fellow stepped 
forth and said : 

" Come in." 

I accepted the invitation with some degree of fear and hes- 
itation, which I endeavored to conceal, as 1 saw that it was 
too late to back ont, and that it would never do to M-caken at 
that point, whether they were friends or foes. Upon enter- 
ing the dug-out my eyes fell upon eight as rough and villain- 
ous looking men as 1 ever saw in my life. Two of them I 
instantly recognized as teamsters who had been driving in 
Lew Simpson's train, a few months before, and had been dis- 
charged. 

They were charged with the murdering and robbing of a 
ranchman ; and having stolen his horses it was supposed 
that they had left the country. I gave them no signs of rec- 
ognition however, deeming it advisable to let them remain 
in ignorance as to who I was. It was a hard crowd, and I 
concluded that the sooner I could get away from them the 
better it would be for me. I felt confident that they wei'c a 
band of horse-thieves. 

" Where are you going, young man ; and who's with you ?" 
asked one of the men who appeared to be the leader of the 
gang. 

" ■'" M^ entirely alone. I left Horseshoe station this 
morn^fP for a bear-hunt, and not finding any bears, I had 
determined to camp out for the night and wait till morn- 
ing," said I ; "and just as I was going into camp, a few 



AMONG VILLAINS. 115 

hundred yards down the creek, 1 heard one of your horses 
whinnying, and. then I came up to your camp." 

I was thus explicit in my statement in order, if possible 
to satisfy the cut-throats that I was not spying upon them, 
but that my intrusion was entirely accidental. 

" Where's your horse ? " demanded the boss thief. 

" I left him down the creek," I answered. 

They proposed going after the horse, but I thought that 
that would nerer do, as it w^ould leave me without any 
means of escape, and I accordingly said, in hopes to throw 
them off the track, '' Captain, Til leave my gun here and go 
down and get my horse, and come back and stay all night." 

I said this in as cheerful and as careless a manner as possi- 
ble, so as not to arouse their suspicions in any way, or lead 
them to think that I was aware of their true character. I 
hated to part with my gun, but my suggestion of leaving it 
was a part of the plan of escape which I had arranged. If 
they have the gun, thought I, they would surely believe that 
I intended to come back. But this little game did not work 
at all, as one of the desperadoes spoke up and said : 

"Jim and I will go down with you after your horse, and 
you can leave your gun here all the same, as you'll not need 
it." 

" All right," I replied, for I could certf},inly have said 
nothing else. It became evident to me that it would be bet- 
ter to trust myself with two men than with the whole party. 
It was apparent that from this time on, I would have to be on 
the alert for some good opportunity to give them the slip. 

"Come along," said one of them, and togeth-er we went 
down the creek, and soon came to the spot where my horse 
was tied. One of the men unhitched the animal and said : 
" I'll lead the horse." 

" Yery well," said I, "I've got a couple of sage-hens here. 
Lead on." 

I picked up the sage-hens, which I had killed a few hours 
before, and followed the man who was leading the horse, 



116 



LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 



while his companion brought up the rear. The nearer we 
approached the dug-out the more I dreaded the idea of going 
back among the villainous cut-throats. 

My Urst plan of escape having failed, I now determined 
upon another. 

I had both of my revolvers with me, the thieves not hav- 
ing thought it necessary to search me. It was now quite 
dark, and I purposely dropped one of the sage-hens, and 




MY ESCAPE FHOM THE HORSE THIEVES. 

asked the man behind me to pick it up. While he was hunt- 
ing for it on the ground, I quickly pulled out one of my 
Colt's revolvers and struck him a tremendous blow on the 
back of the head, knocking him senseless to the ground. I 
then instantly wheeled around, and saw that the man ahead 
who was only a few feet distant, had heard the blow and had 
turned to see what was the matter, his hand upon his revol- 
ver. We faced each other at about the same instant, but 



ESCAPING FROM ^THE THIEVES. 117 

before lie could fire, as he tried to do, I shot him dead in his 
tracks. Then jumping on mj horse, I rode down the creek 
as fast as possible, through the darkness and over the rough 
ground and rocks. 

The other outlaws in the dug-out, having heard the shot 
which I had fired, knew there was trouble, and they all came 
rushing down tlie creek. I suppose, by the time they reached 
the man whom I had knocked down, that he had recovered 
and hurriedly told them of what had happened. They did not 
stay with the man whom 1 had shot, but came on in hot pur- 
suit of me. They were not mounted, and were making bet- 
ter time down the rough canon than I was on horseback. 
From time to time I heard them gradually gaining on me. 

At last they had come so near that I saw that I must aban- 
don my horse. So 1 jumped to the ground, and gave him a 
hard slap with the butt of one of my revolvers, which started 
him on down the valley, while I scrambled up the mountain 
side. I had not ascended more than Arty feet when I heard 
my pursuers coming closer and closer; I quickly hid 
behind a large pine tree, and in a few moments they all 
rushed by me, being led on by the rattling footsteps of mj- 
horse, which they heard ahead of them. Soon I heard them 
"firing at random at the horse, as they no doubt supposed I 
was still seated on his back. As soon as they had passed me 
I climbed further up the steep mountain, and knowing that 
I had given them the slip, and feeling certain that I could 
keep out of their way, I at once struck out for Horseshoe 
station, which was twenty-five miles distant. I had hard 
traveling at first, but upon reaching lower and better ground, 
I made good headway, walking all night and getting into the 
station just before daylight, — foot-sore, weary, and generally 
played out. 

I immediately waked up the men of the station and told 
them of my adventure. Slade himself happened to be there, 
and he at once organized a party to go out and hunt up the 
horse-thieves. Shortly after daylight twenty well-armed 



118 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

stage-drivers, stock-tenders and ranchmen were galloping in 
the direction of the dug-out. Of course I went along with the 
party, notwithstanding I was very tired and had had hardly 
any rest at all. We had a brisk ride, and arrived in the 
immediate vicinity of the thieve's rendezvous at about ten 
o'clock in the morning. We approached the dug-out cau- 
tiously, but upon getting in close proximity to it we could 
discover no horses in sight. We could see the door of the 
dug-out standing wide open, and we then marched up to the 
place. 'No one was inside, and the general appearance of 
everything indicated that the place had been deserted — that 
the birds had flown. Such, indeed, proved to be the case. 

We found a new-made grave, where they had evidently 
buried the man whom I liad sliot. We made a thorough 
search of the whole vicinity, and finally found their trail 
going southeast in the direction of Denver. As it would 
have been useless to follow them, we rode back to the station ; 
and thus ended my eventful bear-hunt. We had no more 
trouble for soxne time from horse-thieves after that. 

During the winter of 1860 and the spring of 1861 I re- 
mained at Horseshoe, occasionally riding pony express and 
taking care of stock. 



CHAPTER IX. 

FAST DKIVING. 

IT -^as in the spring of 18C1, while I was at Horseshoe, 
that the eastern-bound coach came in one day loaded 
down with passengers and baggage, and stopped for dinner ; 
Horseshoe being a regular dinner station as well as a home 
station. The passengers consisted of six Englishmen, and 
they had been continualljr grumbling about the slow time 
that was being made by the stages, saying that the farther 
they got East the slower they went. 

" These blarsted 'eathens don't know hanything habout 
staging, hany-'ow,-' remarked one of them. 

"Blarst me bloody heyes ! they cawn't stage in this coun- 
try as we do in Hingland, you know," said another. 

Their remarks were overheard by Bob Scott, who was to 
drive the coach from Horseshoe to Fort Laramie, and he 
determined to give them satisfaction before they got over 
his route. Scott was known to be the best reinsman and the 
most expert driver on the whole line of the road. He was a 
very gentlemanly fellow in his general appearance and con- 
duct, but at times he would become a reckless dare-devil, and 
would take more desperate chances than any other driver. 
He delighted in driving wild teams on the darkest nights, 
over a mountain road, and had thus become the hero of 
many a thrilling adventure. 

It happened on this day he was to drive a team of six 

'll9 



120 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

pony express horses, which had been only partially broken 
in as a stage team. As the stock-tenders were hitching tUem 
up, Bob, who was standing by, said, " I'll show them Eng- 
lishmen that we ' blarsted heathens ' do know something 
about staging in this country." We all knew from Bob's 
looks that something was up. 

It required several men to hitch up this frisky team, as a 
man had to hold on to each one of the horses by the bits, 
while they were stringing them out. The Englishmen came 
out from dinner, and were delighted to see the horses pranc- 
ing and pawing as if anxious to start. 

"Ha! my deah fellah, now we wdll 'ave a fine ride this 
hafternoon," said one of them. 

" By Jove ! those are the kind of 'orses they bought to 
'ave on hall the teams," remarked another. 

" Are you the lad who is going to drive to-day ? " asked 
another of Bob. 

"Yes, gentlemen," answered Bob, "I'll show you how 
we stage it in this country." 

Bob mounted the box, gathered the lines, and pulling 
the horses strongly by the bits, he sang out to the English- 
meii, " All aboard ! " Bob's companion on the box was 
Capt. Cricket ; a little fellow who was the messenger of 
the coach. After everybody was seated. Bob told the stock- 
tenders to " turn 'em loose." 

We, M'ho were standing around to see the stage start out, 
expected it would go off at a lively rate. We were consid- 
erably surprised, therefore, when, after the horses had made 
a few lively jumps, Bob put on the big California brakes 
and brought them down to a walk. The road, for a distance 
of four miles, gradually rose to the top of a hill, and all the 
way up this ascent. Bob held the impatient team in check. 

" Blarst your heyes, driver, why don't you let them go?" 
exclaimed one of the passengers, who had all along been ex- 
pecting a very brisk ride. Every once in a while they 
would ask him some such c[uestion, but he paid no attention 







BOB SCOTT'S FAMOUS COACH RIDE. 



BOB SCOTT'S DRIVE. 123 

to tlieiti. At last he reached the top of the hill, and then he 
suddenly flung three of the lines on the left side of the team, 
and the other three on the right side. lie then began 
^'playing the silk to them," — that is to say, he began to lash 
them unmercifully. The team started off like a streak of 
lightning, so to speak, without a single rein being held by 
the driver. Bob cried out to the Englishmen, saying, 
" Hold on, gentlemen, and I'll give you a lively ride, and 
show you how to stage it in the Rocky Mountains." 

His next movement was to pull the lamps out of the sock- 
ets and throw them at the leaders. The glass broke upon 
their backs and nearly set them wild, but being so accus- 
tomed to running the road, they never once left the track, 
and went flying on down the grade towards the next station, 
eight miles distant, the coach bouncing over the loose stones 
and small obstacles, and surging from side to side, as an egg- 
shell M'ould in the rapids of Niagara. Not satisfled with the 
break-neck rate at which they were traveling, Bob pulled 
out his revolver and fired in rapid succession, at the same 
time yelling in a demoniacal manner. 

By this time the Englishmen had become thoroughly 
frightened, as they saw the lines flying wildly in every direc- 
tion and the team running away. They did not know 
whether to jump out or remain in the coach. Bob would 
occasionally look down from his seat, and, seeing their fright- 
ened faces, would ask, "Well, Iionv do you like staging in 
this country now 1 " The Englishmen stuck to the coach, 
probably thinking it would be better to do so than to take 
the chances of breaking their necks by jumping. 

As the flying team was nearing the station, the stock 
tender saw that they were running away and that the driver 
had no control over them whatever. Being aware that the 
pony express horses were accustomed to running right into 
the stable on arriving at the station, he threw open the large 
folding doors, which would just allow the passage of the 
team and coach into the stable. The horses, sure enough, 



124 . LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

made for the open doorway. Capt. Cricket, the messenger, 
and Scott got down in the boot of the coach to save them- 
selves from colliding with the top of the stable door. The 
coach would probably have passed through into the stable 
without any serious damage had it not been for the bar or 
threshold that was stretched across the ground to fasten the 
doors to. This bar was a small log, and the front wheels 
struck it with such force that the coach was thrown up high 
enough to strike the upper portion of the door-frame. The 
top of the coach was completely torn off, and one of the 
passenger's arms was broken. This was the only serious 
injury that was done ; though it was a matter of surprise to 
all, that any of the travelers escaped. 

The coach was backed out, when the running gear was 
found to be as good as ever. The top was soon patched up, 
a change of team was made, and Bob Scott, mounting the box 
as if nothing had happened, took the reins in hand, and 
shouted, ''AH aboard!" The Englishmen, however, had 
had enough of Bob Scott, and not one of the party was 
willing to risk his life with him again. They said that he 
was drunk, or crazy or both, and that they would report him 
and have him discharged for what he had already done. 

Bob waited a few minutes to give them an opportunity to 
take their seats in the coach, but they told him most emphat- 
ically that he could drive on without them, as they intended 
to wait there for the next stage. Their traps were taken off, 
and Bob drove away without a single passenger. He made 
his usual time into Fort Laramie, which was the end of his 
run. The Englishmen came through on the next day's 
coach, and proceeded on to Atchison, where they reported 
Bob to the superintendent of the line, who, however, paid 
little or no attention to the matter, as Bob remained on the 
road. Such is the story of the liveliest and most reckless 
piece of stage-driving that ever occurred on the Overland 
stage road. 



* CHAPTER X. 

QUESTIONAliLE PROCEEDINGS. 

HAYING been away from home nearly a year, and hav- 
ing occasionally heard of my mother's poor health, I 
determined to make her a visit ; so procuring a pass over 
the road, I went to Leavenworth, arriving there about June 
1st, 1861, going from there home. The civil war had broken 
out, and excitement ran high in that part of the country. 
My mother, of course, was a strong Union woman, and had 
such great confidence in the government that she believed the 
war would not last over six months. 

Leavenworth at that time was quite an important outfit- 
ting post for the AYest and Southwest, and the fort there 
was garrisoned by a large number of troops. While in the 
city one day I met several of the old, as well as the young 
men, who had been members of the Free State party all 
through the Kansas troubles, and who had, like our family, 
lost everything at the hands of the Missourians. They now 
thought a good opportunity offered to retaliate and get even 
with their persecutors, as they were all considered to be 
secessionists. That they were all secessionists, however, was 
not true, as all of them did not sympathize with the South. 
But the Free State men, myself among them, took it for 
granted that as Missouri was a slave state the inhabitants 
must all be secessionists, and therefore our enemies. A man 
by the name of Chandler proposed that we organize an inde- 

125 



126 



LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 



pendent company for the purpose of invading Missouri and 
making war on its people on our own responsibility. He 
at once went about it in a very quiet way, and succeeded in 
inducing twenty-five men to join him in the hazardous 
enterprise. Having a longing and revengeful desire to retal- 
iate upon the Missourians for the brutal manner in which 





they had treated and robbed 
my family, I became a mem- 
ber of Chandler's company. 
His plan was that we should 
leave our homes in parties of 
not more than two or three 
together, and meet at a cer- 
ktain point near "Westport, 
Missouri, on a fixed day. His 
instructions were carried out 
to the letter, and we met at 
the rendezvous at the appoint- 
ed time. Chandler had been 
there some days before us, 
and, thoroughly disguised, 
had been looking around the 
country for the whereabouts 
of all the best horses. He di- 
rected us to secretly visit cer. 
NEARLY KVEKY MAN HAD TWO HOUSES, tjuu famis aud collcct all the 
horses possible, and bring them together the next night. 
This we did, and upon reassembling it was found that nearly 



JAY-HAWKING. 12T 

every man had two horses. We immediately struck out for 
the Kansas line, which we crossed at an Indian ferry on the 
Kansas river, above "Wyandotte, and as soon as we had set 
foot upon Kansas soil we separated with the understandings 
that we were to meet one Aveek from that day at Leaven- 
worth. 

Some of the parties boldly took their confiscated horses 
into Leavenworth, while others rode them to their homes. 
This action may look to the reader like horse-stealing, and 
some people might not hesitate to call it by that name ; but 
Chandler plausibly maintained that we were onh^ getting 
back our own, or the equivalent, from the Missourians, and 
as the government was waging war against the South, it was 
perfectly square and honest, and we had a good right to do 
it. So we didn't let our consciences trouble us very much. 

We continued to make similar raids upon the Missourians 
oif and on during the summer, and occasionally we had run- 
ning fights with them ; none of the skirmishes, however,, 
amounting to much. 

The government officials hearing of our operations, put 
detectives upon our track, and several of the party were 
arrested. My mother, upon learning that I was engaged in 
this business, told me it was neither honorable nor right, and 
she would not for a moment countenance any such proceed- 
ings. Consequently 1 abandoned the jay-hawking enter- 
prise, for such it really was. 

About this time the government bought from Jones and 
Cartwright several ox-trains, which were sent to Rolla, Mis- 
souri, all being put in charge of my old and gallant friend,. 
Wild Bill, who had just become the hero of the day, on 
account of a terrible fight wdiich he had had with a gang of 
desperadoes and outlaws, who infested the border under the 
leadership of the then notorious Jake McCandless. In this 
fight he had killed McCandless and three of his men. 

The affair occurred while Wild Bill was riding the pony 
express in western Kansas. 



128 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

The custom with the express riders, when within half a 
mile of a station, was either to begin shouting or blowing a 
horn in order to notify the stock tender of his approach, and 
to have a fresh horse already saddled for him on his arrival, 
so that he could go riglit on without a moment's delay. 

One day, as Wild Bill neared Rock Creek station, where 
he was to change horses, he began shouting as usual at the 
proper distance ; but the stock -tender, who had been married 
only a short time and had his wife living with him at the 
station, did not make Iiis accustomed appearance. Wild Bill 
galloped up and instead of finding the stock-tender ready 
for him with a fresh horse, he discovered him lying across 
the stable door with the blood oozing from a bullet-hole in 
his head. The man was dead, and it was evident that he 
bad been killed only a few moments before. 

In a second Wild Bill jumped from his horse, and looking 
in the direction of the house he saw a man coming towards 
him. The approaching man fired on him at once, but missed 
his aim. Quick as lightning Wild-Bill pulled his revolver and 
returned the fire. The stranger fell dead, shot through the 
brain. 

" Bill, Bill ! Help ! Help ! save me ! " Such was the cry 
that Bill now heard. It was the shrill and pitiful voice of 
the dead stock-tender's wife, and it came fi'om a window of 
the house. She had heard the exchange of shots, and knew 
that Wild Bill had arrived. 

He dashed over the dead body of the villain whom he liad 
killed, and ju^t as he sprang into the door of the house, he 
saw two powerful men assaulting the woman. One of the 
desperadoes was in the act of striking her M'ith the butt end 
of a revolver, and while his arm was still raised, Bill sent a 
ball crashing through his skull, killing him instantly. Two 
other men now came rushing from an adjoining ro^-m, and 
Bill, seeing that the odds were three to one against him, 
■jumped into a corner, and then firino V.d killed another of 
the villains. Before he could shoot again the remaining two 




WILD BILL AND TUE OUTLAWS. 



WILD BILL'S FIGHT WITH DESPERADOES. 131 

men closed in upon him, one of whom had drawn a large 
bowie knife. Bill wrenched the knife from his grasp and 
drove it through the heart of the outlaw. 

The fifth and last man now grabbed Bill by the throat, 
and held him at arm's length, but it was only for a moment, 
as Bill raised his own powerful right arm and struck his 
antagonist's left arm such a terrible blow that he broke it. 
The disabled desperado, seeing that he was no longer a 
match for Bill, jumped through the door, and mounting a 
horse he succeeded in making his escape — being the sole sur- 
vivor of the Jake McCandless gang. 

Wild Bill remained at the station with the terrified 
woman until the stage came along, and he then consigned 
her to the care of the driver. Mounting his horse he at 
once galloped off, and soon disappeared in the distance, 
making up for lost time. 

This- was the exploit that was on everybody's tongue and 
in every newspaper. It was one of the most remarkable 
and desperate hand to hand encounters that has ever taken 
place on the border. 

I happened to meet "Wild Bill at Leavenworth as he was 
about to depart for Rolla ; he wished me to take charge 
of the government trains as a sort of assistant under him, 
and I gladly accepted the offer. Arriving at Rolla, we 
loaded the trains with freight and took them to Springfield, 
Missouri. 

On our return to Kolla we heard a great deal of talk about 
the approaching fall races at St. Louis, and Wild Bill having 
brought a fast running horse from the mountains, deter- 
mined to take him to that city and match him against some 
of the high-flyers there; and down to St. Louis we went 
with this running horse, placing our hopes very high on him. 

Wild Bill had no difiiculty in making up a race for liim. 
All the money that he and I had we put up on the mountain 
runner, and as we thought we had a sure thing, we also bet 
the horse against $250. I rode the horse myself, but never- 



132 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

theless, our sure thing, like many another sure thing, proved 
a total failure, and we came out of that race minus the horse 
and every dollar we had in the world. 

Before the race it had been " make or break " with us, and 
■we got " broke." We were " busted " in the largest city we 
had ever been in, and it is no exaggeration to say that we 
felt mighty blue. 

On the morning after the race we went to the military 
headquarters, where Bill succeeded in securing an engage- 
ment for himself as a government scout, but I being so 
young failed in obtaining similar employment. Wild Bill, 
however, raised some money, by borrowing it from a friend, 
and then buying me a steamboat ticket he sent me back to 
Leavenworth, while he went to Springfield, which place 
he made his headquarters while scouting in southeastern 
Missouri. 

One night, after he had returned from a scouting expedi- 
tion, he took a hand in a game of poker, and in the course 
of the game he became involved in a quarrel with Dave 
Tutt, a professional gambler, about a watch which he had 
won from Tutt, who would not give it up. 

Bill told him he had won it fairly, and that he proposed to 
have it ; furthermore, he declared his intention of carrying 
the watch across the street next morning to military head- 
quarters, at which place he had to report at nine o'clock. 

Tutt replied that he would himself carry the watch across 
the street at nine o'clock, and no other man would do it. 

Bill then said to Tutt that if he attempted any thing of the 
kind, he would kill him, 

A challenge to a duel had virtually been given and accept- 
ed, and everybody knew that the two men meant business. 
At nine o'clock the next morning, Tutt started to cross the 
street. Wild Bill, who was standing on the opposite side, 
told him to stop. At that moment Tutt, who was carrying 
his revolver in his hand, fired at Bill but missed him. 
Bill quickly pulled out his revolver and returned the fire^ 



WILD BILL'S DUEL. 



133 



hitting Tutt squarely in the forehead and killing him 
instantly. 

Quite a number of Tutt's friends were standing in the 
vicinity, having assembled to witness the duel, and Bill, as 
soon as Tutt fell to the ground, turned to them and asked 
if any one of thfem wanted to take it up for Tutt; if so, he 
would accommodate any of them then and there. But none 
of them cared to stand in front of Wild Bill to be shot at 
by him. 

IS'othing of course was ever done to Bill for the killing of 
Tutt. 



if;///,i 



.^ 










CHAPTER XI. 



A SOLDIER. 



IN the fall of 1861 I made a ti-ij:) to Fort Earned, Kansas, 
carrying military dispatches, and in the winter I ac- 
companied George Long through the country, and assisted 
him in buying horses for the government. 

The next spring, 1862, an expedition against the Indians 
was organized, consisting of a volunteer regiment, the 
Ninth Kansas, under Colonel Clark. This expedition, which 
I had joined in the capacity of guide and scout, proceeded 
to the Kiowa and Comanche country, on the Arkansas river, 
along which stream we scouted all summer between Fort 
Lyon and Fort Larned, on the old Santa Fe trail. We had 
several engagements with the Indians, but they were of no 
great importance. 

In the winter of 1802, 1 became one of the " Eed Legged 
Scouts," — a company of scouts commanded by Captain TufE. 
Among its members were some of the most noted Kansas 
Hangers, such as Red Clark, the St. Clair brothers, Jack 
Harvey, an old pony express-rider named Johnny Fiy, and 
many other well known frontiersmen. Our held of opera- 
tions was confined mostly to the Arkansas country and south- 
western Missouri. We had many a lively skii-mish with tiie 
bushwhackers and Younger brothers, and when we were not 
hunting them, we were generally employed in carrying dis- 
patches between Forts Dodge, Gibson, Leavenworth, and 

134 



I ENLIST IN THE ARMY. 135 

other posts. Whenever we were in Leavenworth we had a 
very festive time. We usually attended all the balls in full 
force, and " ran things " to suit ourselves. Thus I passed 
the winter of 1862 and the spring of 1803. 

Subsequently I engaged to conduct a small train to Den- 
ver for some merchants, and on reaching that place in Sep- 
tember, I received a letter stating that my mother was not 
expected to live. I hastened home, and found her danger- 
ously ill. She grew gradually worse, and at last, on the 
22d of November, 1803, she died. Thus passed away a lov- 
ing and affectionate mother and a noble, brave, good and 
loyal woman. That I loved her above all other persons, no 
one who has read these reminiscences can for a moment 
doubt. 

Previous to this said event my sister Julia had been mar- 
ried to a gentleman named J. A. Goodman, and they now 
came to reside at our house and take charge of the children, 
as my mother had desired that they should not be separated. 
Mr. Goodman became the guardian of the minor children. 

I soon left the home now rendered gloomy by the absence 
of her whom I had so tenderly loved, and going to Leaven- 
worth I entered upon a dissolute and reckless life — to my 
shame be it said — and associated with gamblers, drunkards, 
and bad characters generally. I continued my dissipation 
about t\f o months, and was becoming a very " hard case." 
About this time the Seventh Kansas regiment, known as 
" Jennison's Jay -hawkers," returned from the war, and re- 
enlisted and re-organized as veterans. Among them I met 
quite a number of my old comrades and neighbors, who tried 
to induce me to enlist and go south with them. I had no idea 
of doing anything of the kind; but one day, after having been 
under the influence of bad whisky, I awoke to find myself 
a soldier in the Seventh Kansas. I did not remember how 
or when I had enlisted, but 1 saw I was in for it, and that 
it would not do for me to endeavor to back out. 

In the spring of 1864 the regiment was ordered to Ten 



136 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

nessee, and we got into Memphis just about the time that 
General Sturgis was so badly whipped by General Forrest. 
General A. J. Smith re-organized the army to operate against 
Forrest, and after marching to Tupalo, Mississippi, we had 
an eno-ao-ement with him and defeated him. This kind of 
fighting was all new to me, being entirely different from 
any in which I had ever before engaged. I soon became a 
non-commissioned officer, and was put on detached service as 
a scout. 

After skirmishing around the country with the rest of the 
army for some little time, our regiment returned to Memphis, 
but was immediately ordered to Cape Giiardeau, in Missouri, 
as a confederate force under General Price m^^s then raiding 
that state. The command of \vhich my regiment w^as a part 
hurried to the front to intercept Price, and our first light 
with him occurred at Pilot Knob. From that time for 
nearly six weeks we fought or skirmished every day. 

I w^as still acting as a scout, when one day 1 rode ahead 
of the command, some considerable distance, to pick up all 
possible information concerning Price's movements. 1 was 
dressed in gray clothes, or Missouri jeans, and on riding up 
to a farm-house and entering, I saw a man, also dressed in 
gray costume, sitting at a table eating bread and milk. He 
looked up as I entered, and startled me by saying : 

"You little rascal, what are you doing in those 'secesh' 
clothes ? " Judge of my surprise when I recognized in the 
stranger my old friend and partner. Wild Bill, disguised as a 
Confederate officer. 

" I ask you the same question, sir," said I without the least 
hesitation. 

"Plush! sit down and have some bread and milk, and 
we'll talk it all over afterwards," said he. 

I accepted the invitation and partook of the refreshments. 
Wild Bill paid the woman of the house, and we went out to 
the gate where my horse was standing. 

" Billy, my boy," said he, '" I am mighty glad to see you. 



OUT AS A SPY. 137 

I haven't seen or heard of you since we got busted on that 
St. Louis' horse-race." 

" "What are you doing out here ? " I asked. 

"I am a scout under General McNiel. For the last few 
days I have been with General Marmaduke's division of 
Price's army, in disguise as a southern officer from Texas, as 
you see me now," said he. 

" That's exactly the kind of business that I am out on to- 
day," said I ; " and I want to get some information concern- 
ing Price's movements." 

" I'll give you all that I have ; " and he tfcen went on and 
told me all that he knew regarding Price's intentions, and 
the number and condition of his men. He then asked about 
my mother, and when he learned that she was dead he was 
greatly surprised and grieved ; he thought a great deal of 
her, for she had treated him almost as one of her own 
children. He finally took out a package, which he had con- 
cealed about his person, and handing it to me he said : 

" Here are some letters which I want you to give to Gen- 
eral McNiel." 

" All right," said I as I took them, " but where will I 
meet you again ? " 

" Never mind that," he replied ; " I am getting so much 
valuable information that I propose to stay a little while 
longer in this disguise." Thereupon we shook hands and 
parted. 

It is not necessary to say much concerning Price's raid in 
general, as that event is a matter of recorded history. I am 
only relating the incidents in which I was personally inter- 
ested either as one of the actors or as an observer. 

Another interesting and I may say exciting episode hap- 
pened to me a day or two after my unexpected meeting with 
Wild Bill. I was riding with the advance guard of our 
army, and wishing a drink of water, I stopped at a farm- 
house. There were no men about the premises, and no one 
excepting a very fine and intellectual looking lady and her 



138 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

two daughters. Thej seemed to be almost frightened to 
death at seeing me — a " yank " — appear before them. I 
quieted their fears somewhat, and the mother then asked me 
how far back the army was. When 1 told her it would be 
along shortly, she expressed her fears that they would take 
everything on the premises. They set me out a lunch and 
treated me rather kindly, so that I really began to sympathize 
with them ; for I knew that the soldiers would ransack their 
house and confiscate everything they could lay their hands 
on. At last I resolved to do what I could to protect them. 
After the generals and the staif officers had passed by, I 
took it upon myself to be a sentry over the house. "When 
the C'lumand came along some of the men rushed up with 
the intention of entering the place and carrying oft" all the 
desirable plunder possible, and then tearing and breaking 
everything to pieces, as they usually did along the line of 
march. 

" Halt ! " I shouted ; '' I have been placed here by the 
commanding officer as a guard over this house, and no man 
must enter it." 

This stopped the first squad ; and seeing that my plan 
was a success, I remained at my post during the passage of 
the entire command and kept out all intruders. 

It seemed as if the ladies could not thank me sufficiently 
for the protection I had aflforded them. They were per- 
fectly aware of the fact that I had acted without orders and 
entirely on my own responsibility, an(it therefore they felt 
the more grateful. They urgently invited me to remain a 
little wdiile longer and partake of an excellent dinner which 
they said they were preparing for me. I was pretty hungry 
about that time, as our rations had been rather slim of late, 
and a good dinner was a temptation I could not withstand, 
especially as it was to bo served up by such elegant ladies. 
While I was eating the meal, I was most agreeably enter- 
tained by the young ladies, and before I had finished it the 
last of the rear-guard must have been at least two miles from 
the house. 



A FORTUNATE ESCAPE. I39 

Suddenly three men entered the room, and I looked up 
and saw three double-barreled shot-guns leveled straight at 
me. Before I could speak, however, the mother and her 
daughters sprang between the men and me. 

"Father! Boys! Lower your guns! You must not 
shoot this man," and similar exclamations, were the cry of 
all three. 

Tlie guns were lowered, and then the men, who were the 
father and brothers of the young ladies, were informed of 
what 1 had done for them. It appeared that they had been 
concealed in the woods near by while the army was passing, 
and on coming into the house and finding a Yankee there, 
they determined to shoot him. Upon learning the facts, the 
old man extended his hand to me, saying : 

"I would not harm a hair of your head for theM'orld; 
but it is best that you stay here no longer, as your command 
is some distance from here now, and you might be cut off by 
bushwhackers before reaching it." 

Bidding them all good-bye, and with many thanks from 
the motlier and daughters, I mounted my horse and soon 
overtook the column, happy in the tliought that I had done 
a good deed, and with no regrets that 1 had saved from pil- 
lage and destruction the home and property of a confederate 
and his family. 

Our command kept crowding against Price and his army 
until they were pushed into the vicinity of Kansas City, 
where their further advance was checked by United States 
troops from Kansas; and then was begun their memorable 
and extraordinary retreat back into Kansas. 

While both armies were drawn up in skirmish line near 
Fort Scott, Kansas, two men on horseback were seen rap- 
idly leaving the Confederate lines, and suddenly they made 
a dash towards us. Instantly quick volleys were discharged 
from the Confederates, who also began a pursuit, and some 
five hundred shots were fired at the flying men. It was evi- 
dent that they were trying to reach our lines, but when 



140 LIFE OF BUFFALO iBILL. 

within about a quarter of a mile of us, one of them fell 
from his horse to rise no more. He had been fatally shot. 
His companion galloped on unhurt, and seven companies of 
our reghnent charged out and met him, and checked his 
pursuers. The fugitive was dressed in Confederate uni- 
form, and as he rode into our lines I recognized him as 
Wild Bill, the Union scout. He immediately sought Gen- 
erals Pleasanton and McNiel, with whom he held a consult- 
ation. He told them that although Price made a bold show- 
ing on the front, by bringing all his men into view, yet he 
was really a great deal weaker than the appearance of his 
lines would indicate ; and that he was then trying to cross a 
difficult stream four miles from Fort Scott. 

It was late in the afternoon, but General Pleasanton im- 
mediately ordered an advance, and we charged in full force 
upon the rear of Price's army, and drove it before us for 
two hours. 

If Wild Bill could have made his successful dash into our 
lines earlier in the day, the attack would have been made 
sooner, and greater results might have been expected. The 
Confederates had suspected him of being a spy for two or 
three days, and had watched him too closely to allow an 
opportunity to get away from them sooner. His unfortu- 
nate companion who had been shot, was a scout from 
Springfield, Missouri, whose name I cannot now remember. 

From this time on, Wild Bill and myself continued to 
scout together until Price's army was driven south of the 
Arkansas Eiver and the pursuit abandoned. We then re- 
turned to Springfield, Missouri, for a rest and for supplies, 
and Wild Bill and myself spent two weeks there in " having 
a jolly good time," as some people would express it. 



CHAPTER XIL 



A "WEDDING. 



IT was during the winter of 1864-65, while I was on de- 
tached service at military headquarters, at St. Louis, that 
I became acquainted with a young lady named Louisa Fred- 
eric!, whom I greatly admired and in whose charming 
society I spent many a pleasant hour. 

The war closing in 1865, I was discharged, and after a 
brief visit at Leavenworth I returned to St. Louis, havinsr 
made up my mind to capture the heart of Miss Frederici, 
whom I now adored above any other young lady I had ever 
seen. Her lovely face, her gentle disposition and her grace- 
ful manners won my admiration and love ; and I was not 
slow in declaring my sentiments to her. The result was 
that I obtained her consent to marry me in the near future, 
and when I bade her good-bye I considered myself one of 
the happiest of men. 

Meantime I drove a string of horses from Leavenworth to 
Fort Kearney, where I met m.y old friend Bill Trotter, who 
was then division stage agent. He employed me at once to 
drive stage between Kearney and Plum Creek, the road run- 
,ning near the spot where I had my first Indian fight with the 
McCarthy brothers, and where I killed my first Indian, 
nearly nine years before. I drove stage over this route until 
February, 1866, and while bounding over the cold, dreary 

141 



142 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

road day after day, my thoughts turned continually towards 
my promised bride, until I at last determined to abandon 
staging forever, and marry and settle down. Immediately 
after coming to this conclusion, I went to St. Louis, where I 
was most cordially received by my sweetheart ; it was 
arranged between us that our wedding should take place on 
the 6th day of March, following. 

At last the day arrived, and the wedding ceremony was 
performed at the residence of the bride's parents, in the pre- 
sence of a lai-ge number of invited friends, whose hearty 
congratulations we received. I was certainly to be congrat- 
ulated, for I had become possessed of a lovely and noble 
woman, and as I gazed upon her as she stood beside me 
arrayed in her wedding costume, I indeed felt proud of 
her; and from that time to this 1 have always thought that 
I made a most fortunate choice for a life partner. 

An hour after the ceremony we — my bride and myself — 
were on board of a Missouri river steamboat, bound for our 
new home in Kansas. My wife's parents had accompanied 
us to the boat, and had bidden us a fond farewell and a God- 
speed on our journey. 

During the trip up the river several very amusing, yet awk- 
ward incidents occurred, some of which I cannot resist relat- 
ing. There happened to be on board the boat an excursion 
party from Lexington, Missouri, and those comprising it 
seemed to shun me, for some reason which I could not then 
account for. They would point at me, and quietly talk 
among themselves, and eye me very closely. Their actions 
seemed very strange to me. After the boat had proceeded 
some little distance, I made the acquaintance of several fami- 
lies from Indiana, who were en route to Kansas. A gentle- 
man, who seemed to be the leader of these colonists, said to 
me, " The people of this excursion party don't seem to have 
any great love for you." 

" What does it mean ? " I asked : " What are they saying? 
It's all a mystery to me." 



INCIDENTS OF A BRIDAL TOUR. 143 

" Thej say that you are one of the Kansas jnyna^^Kers, 
and one of Jennison's house burners," replied the gentleman. 

" I am from Kansas — that's true; and was a soldier and a 
scout in the Union army," said I ; " and I was in Kansas 
during the border ruffian war of 1856. Perhaps these peo- 
ple know who I am, and that explains their hard looks." I 
had a lengthy conversation with this gentleman — for such 
he seemed to be — and entertained him with several chapters 
of the history of the early Kansas troubles, and told him 
the experiences of my own family. 

In the evening the Lexington folks got up a dance, but 
neither the Indiana people, my wife or myself were invited 
to join them. My new-found friend thereupon came to me 
and said : "Mr. Cody, let us have a dance of our own." 

" Very well," was my reply. 

" We have some musicians along with us, so we can have 
plenty of music," remarked the gentleman. 

'' Good enough ! " said I, " and I will hire the negro bar- 
ber to play the violin for us. He is a good fiddler, as I 
heard him playing only a little while ago." Tlie result was 
that we soon organized a good string band and had a splen- 
did dance, keeping it up as long as the Lexington j)arty did 
theirs. 

The second day out from St. Louis, the boat stopped to 
wood up,.iit a wild-looking landing. Suddenly twenty horse- 
men were seen galloping up through the timber, and as 
they came nearer the boat they tired on the negro deck- 
hands, against whom they seemed to have a special grudge, 
and who were engaged in throwing wood on board. The 
negroes all quickly jumped on the boat and pulled in the 
gang-plank, and the captain had only just time to get the 
steamer out into the stream before the bushwhackers — ^for 
such they proved to be — appeared on the bank. 

" Where is the black abolition jay-hawker ? " shouted the 
leader. 

" Show him to us, and we'll shoot him," yelled another. 



144 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

But as the boat had got well out in the river by this time, 
they could not board us, and the captain ordering a full head 
of steam, pulled out and left them. 

I afterwards ascertained that some of the Missourians, who 
were with the excursion party, were bushwhackers them- 
selves, and had telegraphed to their friends from some pre- 
vious landing that I was on board, telling them to come to 
the landing which we had just left, and take me off. Had 
the villains captured me they would have undoubtedly put 
an end to my career, and the public would never have had 
the pleasure of being bored by this autobiography. 

I noticed that my wife felt grieved over the manner in 
which these people had treated me. Just married, she was 
going into a new country, and seeing how her husband was 
regarded, how he had been shunned, and how his life had been 
threatened, I was afraid she might come to the conclusion 
too soon that she had wedded a " hard customer." So when 
the boat landed at Kansas City I telegraphed to some of my 
friends in Leavenworth that I would arrive there in the even- 
ing. My object was to have my acquaintances give me a re- 
ception, so that my wife could see that I really did have 
some friends, and was not so bad a man as the bushwhackers 
tried to make out. 

Just as I expected, when the boat reached Leavenworth, I 
found a general round-up of friends at the landing to receive 
us. There were about sixty gentlemen and ladies. They 
had a band of music with them, and we were given a fine 
serenade. Taking carriages, we all drove to South Leaven- 
worth to the home of my sister Eliza, who had married 
George Myers, and there we were given a very handsome 
reception. All this cheered up my wife, who concluded that 
I was not a desperado after all. 

Having promised my wife that I would abandon the 
plains, I rented a hotel in Salt Creek Yalley — the same house 
by the way, which my mother had formerly kept, but which 
was then owned by Dr. J. J. Crook, late surgeon of the Yth 



KEEPING A HOTEL. 



^l 



Kansas. This hotel I called the Golden Rule House, and I 
kept it until the next September. People generally said I 
made a good landlord, and knew how to run a hotel — a busi- 
ness qualification which, it is said, is possessed by compara- 
tively few men. But it proved too tame employment for 
me, and again I sighed for the freedom of the plains. Be- 
lieving that I could make more money out West on the 
frontier than I could at Salt Creek Valley, I sold out the 
Golden Rule House, and started alone for Saline, Kansas, 
which was then the end of the track of the Kansas Pacific 
railway, which was at that time being built across the plains. 
On my way I stopped at Junction City, where I again met 
my old friend Wild Bill, who was scouting for the govern- 
ment ; his headquarters being at Fort Ellsworth, afterwards 
called Fort Harker. He told me that they needed more 
scouts at this post, and I accordingly accompanied him to 
that fort, where Iliad no difiiculty in obtaining employment. 

During the winter of 1866-67, I scouted between Fort 
Ellsworth and Fort Fletcher. In the spring of 1867 I was 
at Fort Fletcher, when General Custer came out to go on an 
Indian expedition with General Hancock. I remained at 
this post until it was drowned out by the heavy floods of 
Big Creek, on which it was located ; the water rose about 
the fortifications and rendered the place unfit for occupancy; 
so the government abandoned the fort, and moved the troops 
and supplies to a new post — which had been named Fort 
Hays — located further west, on the south fork of Big Creek. 
It was while scouting in the vicinity of Fort Hays that I 
had my first ride with the dashing and gallant Custer, who 
had come up to the post from Fort Ellsworth with an escort 
of only ten men. He wanted a guide to pilot him to Fort 
Larned, a distance of sixty-five miles across the country. 

I was ordered by the commanding ofiicer to guide Gen- 
eral Custer to his desired destination, and I soon received 
word from the General that he would start out in the 



140 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

morning with the intention of making the trip in one day. 
Early in the morning, after a good night's rest, I was on 
hand, mounted on my large mouse-colored mule — an animal 
of great endurance — and ready for the journey ; when the 
General saw me, he said : 

*•' Cody, I want to travel fast and go through as quickly as 
possible, and I don't think that mule of yours is fast enough 
to suit me." 

" General, never mind the mule," said I, " he'll get 
there as soon as j^our horses. That mule is a good one," as 
I knew that the animal was better than most horses. 

"Very well; go ahead, then," said he, though he looked 
iis if he thought 1 would delay the party on the road. 

For the first fifteen miles, until we came to the Smoky 
Hill River, which we were to cross, I could hardly keep the 
mule in advance of the General, who rode a frisky, impa- 
tient and ambitions thoroughbred steed; in fact, the whole 
])arty was finely mounted. The General repeatedly told me 
that the mule was "no good," and that I ought to have had 
a good horse. But after crossing the river and striking the 
sand-hills, I began letting my mule out a little, and putting 
the " persuaders" to him. He was soon out-traveling the 
horses, and by the time we had made about half the distance 
to Fort Larned, I occasionally had to M-ait for the General 
or some of his party, as their horses were beginning to show 
signs of fatigue. 

" General, how about this mule, anyhow ? " I asked, at 
last. 

" Cody, you have a better vehicle than I thought you 
had," wns his reply. 

From that time on to Fort Larned I had no trouble in 
keeping ahead of the party. We rode into the fort at four 
o'clock in the afternoon with about half the escort only, the 
rest having lasrged far behind. 

General Custer thanked me for having brought him 



MY FIRST RIDE WITH CUSTER. 



147 




GEKERAL CUSTER. 



straight across the country without any trail, and said that 

if I were not engaged as 
post scout at Fort Hays 
he would like to have me 
accompany him as one of 
his scouts during the sum- 
mer; and he added that 
whenever I was out of 
employment, if I would 
come to him he would 
find something for me to 
do. This was the begin- 
ning of my acquaintance 
with General Ouster, 
whom I always admired 
as a man and as an officer. 
A few days after my return to Fort Hays, tlie Indians 
made a raid on the Kansas Pacific Kailroad, killing five or 
six men and running off about one hundred horses and 
mules. The news was brought to the commanding officer, 
who immediately ordered Major Anns, of the Tenth Cav- 
alry — which, by the way, was a negro regiment, — with his 
company aud one mountain howitzer, to go in pursuit of the 
red-skins, and I was sent along with the expedition as scout 
and guide. On the second day out we suddenly discovered, 
on the opposite side of the Saline E-iver, about a mile dis- 
tant, a large body of Indians, who were charging down upon 
us. Major Arms, placing the cannon on a little knoll, lim- 
bered it up and left twenty men to guard it; and then, with 
the rest of the command, he crossed the river to meet the 
Indians. 

Just as he had got the men over the stream, we heard a 
terrific yelling and shouting in our rear, and looking back to 
the knoll where the cannon had been stationed, we saw the 
negroes, who had been left there to guard the gun, flying 
towards us, being pursued by about one hundred Indians ; 



148 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

wtiile another large party of the latter were dancing around 
the captured cannon, as if they had got hold of an elephant 
and did not know what to do with it. 

Major Arms turned his command back and drove the 
Indians from the gun. Tlie troops then dismounted and 
took position there. Quite a severe fight ensued, lasting 
about two hours. Five or six of the soldiers, as well as 
Major Arms, were wounded, and several of tlie horses were 
shot. The Indians seemed to grow thicker and thicker, as 
if receiving reinforcements from some large party. The 
colored troops, who had been bragging all the way that if 
they could only see some Indians " dey would blow 'em off 
de farm," — which was a favorite expression of theirs, — were 
now singing a different tune. Every time the Indians would 
make a charge at us, the darkeys would cry out : 

" Heah dey cum ; " " Dey must be ten thousand ob 'em ; " 
"De whole country is alive wid 'em;" "Massa Bill, does 
you fink we is eber agoin' to get out o' heah ? " and many 
other similar expressions. 

Major Arms, who was wounded and lying under the 
cannon — which, by the way, had become useless, — called me 
up and asked if I thought there was any show of getting 
back to the fort. I replied that there was. 

Orders were accordingly given by Major Arms for a re- 
treat, the cannon being left behind. During the move- 
ment several of our men were killed, but as night came and 
dense darkness prevailed, we succeeded in making good 
headway, and got into Fort Hays just at daylight next morn- 
ing, in a very played-out condition. 

During our absence the cholera had broken out at the post, 
and live or six men were dying daily. It was difficult to tell 
which was the greater danger — fighting Indians on the 
prairie, or facing the cholera in camp ; but the former was 
decidedly the more inviting. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



A MILLIONAIRE. 



SOON after returning to Fort Hays, I was sent with dis- 
patches to Fort Harker. After delivering the messages, 
I visited the town of Ellsworth, about three miles west, of 
Fort Harker, and there 1 met a man named William Kose, 
a contractor on the Kansas Pacific Railroad, who had a con- 
tract for grading near Fort Hays, He had had his stock 
stolen by the Indians, and had come to Ellsworth to buy more. 

Durinij the course of our conversation. Mr. Rose inci- 
dentally remarked that he had some idea of laying out a 
town on the west side of Big Creek, about one mile from 
the fort, where the railroad was to cross. He asked my 
opinion of the contemplated enterprise, and I told him that 
I thought it was " a big thing." He then proposed taking 
me as a partner in the scheme, and suggested that after we 
got the town laid out and thrown open to the public, we 
should establish a store and saloon there. 

Thinking it would be a grand thing to be half-owner of a 
town, I at once accepted his proposition. We bought a 
stock of such articles as are usually found in a f i-ontier store, 
and transported them to the place on Big Creek, where we 
were to found our town. We hired a railroad engineer to 
survey the site and stake it off into lots; and we gave the 
new town the ancient and historical name of Rome. To 

149 



150 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

a "starter,'' we donated lots to any one who would build on 
tliem, but reserved the corner lots and others which were 
best located for ourselves. These reserved lots w^e valued 
at fifty dollars each. 

Our modern Rome, like all mushroom towns along the 
line of a new railroad, sprang up as if by magic, and in less 
than one month we had two hundred frame and log houses, 
three or four stores, several saloons, and one good hotel. 
Rome was looming up, and Rose and I already' considered 
ourselves millionaires, and thought we " had the world by 
the tail." But one day a fine-looking gentleman, calling 
himself Dr. W. E. Webb, appeared in town, and dropping 
into our store introduced himself in a very pleasant way. 

" Gentlemen, you've got a very flourishing little town 
here. "Wouldn't you like to have a partner in your enter- 
prise ? " 

" No, thank you," said I, " we have too good a thing here 
to whack up with anybody." 

My partner agreed wnth me, but the conversation was 
continued, and at last the stranger said : 

" Gentlemen, I ain the agent or prospector of the Kansas 
Pacific Railroad, and my business is to locate towns for the 
company along the line." 

" We think w^ e have the only suitable town-site in this 
immediate locality," said Mr. Rose, "and as a town is 
already started, we have saved the company considerable 
expense." 

"You know as well as I do," said Dr. Webb, "'that the 
company expects to make money by selling lands and town 
lots ; and as you are not disposed to give the company a 
show, or share with me, I shall probably have to start another 
town near you. Competition is the life of trade, you know." 

"Start your town, if you want to. We've got the' bulge' 
on you, and can hold it," said I, somewhat profvoked at his 
threat. 

But we acted too independently and too indiscreetly for 



DEPARTING RICHES. 



151 



our own good Dr. Webb, 
the very next day after his 
interview with u?, began 
hauling material to a spot 
about one mile east of us, 
where he staked out a new 
town, which he called Hays 
City. ■ lie took great pains 
to circulate i n our town 
the story that the railroad 
company would locate their 
round-houses and machine 
shops at Hays City, and 
that it was to be the town 
and a splendid business 
center. A ruinous stam- 
pede from onr place was 
the result. People who 
had built in Rome came to 
the conclusion that they 
had built in the wrong 
place ; they began pulling 
down their buildings and 
moving them over to Hays 
City, and in less than three 
days our once flourishing 
city had dwindled down to 
the little store which Eose 
and I had built. 

1 1 was on a bright 
summer morning that we 
sat on a pine box in front 
of our crib, moodily view- 
ing the demolition of the 
last building. Three days 
before, we had considered 




152 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

ourselves millionaires; on that morning we looked around 
and saw that we were reduced to the ragged edge of poverty. 
Our sanguine expectations of realizing immense fortunes were 
dashed to the ground, and we felt pretty blue. The new 
town of Hays had swallowed Rome entirely. Mr. Rose 
facetiously remarked that he felt like " the last rose of sum- 
mer," with all his lovely companions faded and gone, and 
Ae left blooming alone. I told him I was still there, staunch 
and true, but he replied that that didn't help the matter 
much. Thus ends the brief history of the " Rise, Decline and 
Fall " of Modern Rome. 

It having become evident to me that there was very little 
hope of Rome ever regaining its former splendor and pros- 
perity, I sent my Avife and daughter Arta — who had been 
born at Leavenworth in the latter part of December, 18G6 — 
to St. Louis on a visit. The}^ had been living with me for 
some little time in the rear part of our " store." 

At this time Mr. Rose and myself had a contract under 
Schumacher, Miller & Co., constructors of the Kansas Pacific, 
for grading five miles of track westward fi'om Big Creek, 
and running through the site of Rome. Notwithstanding 
we had been deserted, we had some small hope that they 
would not be able to get water at the new town, and that 
the people would all soon move back to Rome, as we really 
had the best location. We determined, therefore, to go on 
with our grading contract, and wait for something better to 
turn up. It was indeed hard for us, M'ho had been million- 
aires, to come down to the level of common railroad con- 
tractors — but we had to do it, all the same. 

We visited the new town of Hays almost daily, to see how 
it was progressing, and in a short time we became much bet- 
ter acquainted with Dr. Webb, who had reduced us from our 
late independent to our present dependent position. We 
found him a perfect gentleman — a whole-souled, genial- 
hearted fellow, whom everybody liked and respected. 
Nearly every day, " Doc." and I would take a ride over 
the prairie togetlier and hunt buffalo. 



DOC. AND I HAVE A RUN. 153 

On one occasion, havinj^ ventured about ten miles from 
the town, we spied a bund of Indians not over two miles 
distant, who were endeavoring to get between us and the 
town, and thus cut us otf. I was mounted on my celebrated 
horse Brigham, the fleetest steed I ever owned. On several 
subsequent occasions he saved my life, and he was tlie horse 
that I rode Mdien I killed sixty-nine buflaloes in one day. 
Dr. Webb was riding a beautiful thoroughbred bay, which 
he had brought with him from the East. Having such 
splendid horses, we laughed at the idea of a band of Indians 
overtaking us on a square run, no matter how well they 
might be moimted ; but not caring to be cut oflF by them, we 
ran our steeds about three miles towards home, thus getting 
between the braves and the town. The Indians were then 
about three-quarters of a mile distant, and we stopped and 
W'aved our hats at them, and fired some sliots at lono- rano-e.. 
There were thirteen in the party, and as they were getting 
pretty close to us, we struck out for Hays. They came on 
in pursuit and sent several scattering shots after ns, but we 
easily left them behind. They finally turned and rode off 
towards the Saline River. 

The Doctor thought this glorious sport, and wanted to 
organize a party to go in pursuit of them, but I induced 
him to give up this idea, although he did so rather reluct- 
antly. The Doctor soon became quite an expert hunter, and 
before. he had remained on the prairie a year there were but 
few men in the country wdio could kill more bufiiiloes on a 
hunt than he. 

Being aware that Eose and myself felt rather down- 
hearted over our deserted village, the Doctor one day said 
tliat, as he had made the proprietors of Rome "howl," he 
would give us two lots each in Hays, and did so. "\7e finally 
came to the conclusion that our old town was dead beyond 
redemption or revival, and we thereupon devoted our un- 
divided attention to our railroad contract. One day we 
were pushed for horses to work on our scrapers — so I 



154 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

hitched up Brigham, to see how he would work. He was 
not much used to that kind of labor, and I was about giving 
up the idea of making a work-horse of him, when one of the 
men called to me that there were some buffaloes coming 
over the hill. As there had been no buffaloes seen any- 
where in the vicinity of the camp for several days, we had 
become rather short of meat. I immediately told one of 
our men to hitch his horses to a wagon and follow me, as 
I was going out after the herd, and we would bring back 
some fresh meat for supper. 1 had no saddle, as mine had 
been left at the camp a mile distant, so taking the harness 
from Brigham, I mounted him bareback and started out 
after the game, being armed with my celebrated buffalo- 
killer, "Lucretia Borgia," — a newly-improved breech-loading 
needle gun, which I had obtained from the government. 

While I was riding toward the buffaloes I observed five 
horsemen coming out from the fort, who had evidently seen 
the buffaloes f roni the post, and were going out for a chase. 
They proved to be some newly-arrived officers in that part 
of the country, and when they came up closer, I could see 
by the shoulder straps that the senior officer was a captain, 
while the others were lieutenants. 

" Hello! may friend," sang out the captain, "I see you are 
after the same game we are." 

" Yes, sir ; 1 saw those buffaloes coming over the hill, and 
as we were about out of fresh meat I thought I would go 
and get some," said I. 

They scanned my cheap-looking outfit pretty closely, and as 
my horse was not very prepossessing in appearance, having on 
only a blind bridle, and otherwise looking like a work-horse 
they evidently considered me a green hand at hunting. 

" Do you expect to catch those buffaloes on that Gothic 
steed ?" laughingly asked the captain. 

" I hope so, by pushing on the reins hard enough," was 
my reply. 

" You'll never catch them in the world, my fine fellow,'* 



CAPT. GKAHAM'S BUBTALO HUNT. 155 

said the captain. " It recj^uires a fast horse to overtake the 
animals on these prairies." 

" Does it ? " asked I as if I didn't know it. 

" Yes ; but come along with us as we are going to kill 
them more for pleasure than anything else. All we want 
are the tongues and a piece of tender loin, and you may have 
all that is left," said the generous man. 

" I am much obliged to you. Captain, and will follow you,"^ 
I replied. 

There were eleven buffaloes in the herd and they were not 
more than a mile from us. The officers dashed ahead as if 
they had a sure thing on killing them all before I could 
come up with them ; but 1 had noticed that the herd was 
making towards the creek for water, and as T knew buffalo 
nature, I was perfectly aware that it would be difficult to 
turn them from their direct course. Thereupon, I started 
towards the creek to head them off, while the officers came 
up in the rear and gave chase. 

The buffaloes came rushing past me not a hundred yards 
distant, with the officers about three hundred yards in the 
rear. ISTow, thought I, is the time to " get my work in," as 
they say ; and I pulled the blind-bridle from my horse, who 
knew as well as I did that we were out for buffaloes — as he 
was a trained hunter. The moment the bridle was off', he 
started at the top of his speed, running in ahead of the 
officers, and with a few jumps he brought me alongside of 
the rear buffalo. Raising old "Lucretia Borgia" to my 
shoulder, I fired, and* killed the animal at the first shot. My 
horse then carried me alongside the next one, not ten feet 
away, and I dropped him at the next tire. 

As soon as one buffalo w^ould fall, Brigham would take me 
so close to the next, that I coulu almost touch it with my 
gun. In this manner I killed tlie eleven buffaloes with 
twelve shots ; and, as the last animal dropped, my horse 
stopped. I jumped to the ground, knowing that he would 
not leave me — it must be remembered that I had been riding 



156 



LIFE OP BUFFALO BILL. 



kim without bridle, reins or saddle — and turning round as 
the party of astonished officers rode up, I said to them : 

" Now, gentlemen, allow me to present to you all the 
tongues and teuder-loins you wish from these buffaloes." 




TONGUES AND TENDER LOINS. 



Captain Graham, for such I soon learned was his name, 
replied : " Well, I never saw the like before. Who under 
the sun are you, anyhow ? " 

" My name is Cody," said I, 

One of the lieutenants, Thompson by name, who had met 
me at Fort Harker, then recognized me, and said : " Why, 
that is Bill Cody, our old scout." He then introduced me to 
the other officers, who were Captain Graham, of the Tenth 
Cavalry, and Lieutenants Reed, Emmick and Ezekiel. 

Captain Graham, who wa& considerable of a horseman, 
greatly admired Brigham, and said: "That horse of yours 
has running points." 



BRIQHAM'S POINTS. 157 

" Yes, sir ; he has not only got the points, he is a runner 
and knows how to use the points," said I. 
" So I noticed," said the captain. 

Thej all finally dismounted, and we continued chatting 
for some little time upon the different subjects of horses, 
buffaloes, Indians and hunting. They felt a little sore at not 
getting a single shot at the buffaloes, but the way I had kill- 
ed them had, they said, amply repaid them for their disap- 
pointment. They had read of such feats in books, but this 
was the first time they had ever seen anything of the kind 
with their own eyes. It was the first time, also, that they 
had ever witnessed or heard of a white man running buffa- 
loes on horseback without a saddle or a bridle. 

I told them that Brigham knew nearly as much about the 
business as I did, and if I had had twenty bridles they 
would have been of no use to me, as he understood every- 
thing, and all that he expected of me was to do the shooting. 
It is a fact, that Brigham would stop if a buffalo did not fall 
at the first fire, so as to give me a second chance, but if I 
did not kill the buffalo then, he would go on, as if to say, 
" You are no good, and I will not fool away time by giving 
you more than two shots." Brigham was the best horse I 
ever owned or saw for buffalo chasing. 

Our conversation was interrupted in a little while by the 
arrival of the wagon which I had ordered out ; I loaded the 
hind-quarters of the youngest buffaloes on it, and then cut 
out the tongues and tender loins, and presented them to the 
officers, after which I rode towards the fort with them, while 
the wagon returned to camp. 

Captain Graham told me that he expected to be stationed 
at Fort Hays during the summer, and would probably be 
sent out on a scouting expedition, and in case he was he 
would like to have me accompany him as scout and guide. 
I replied that notwithstanding I was very busy with my 
railroad contract I would go with him if he was ordered 
out. I then left the officers and returned to our camp. 



158 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

That very night the Indians unexpectedly made a raid on 
the horses, and ran off live or six of our very best work- 
teams, leaving us in a very crippled condition. At daylight 
I jumped on old Brigham and rode to Fort Hays, when I 
reported the affair to the commanding officer ; Captain Gra- 
ham and Lieutenant Emmick were at once ordered out with 
their company of one hundred colored troops, to pursue the 
Indians and recover our stock if possible. In an hour we 
were under way. The darkies had never been in an Indian 
fight and were anxious to catch the band we were after and 
" Sweep de red debels from off de face ob de earth." Cap- 
tain Graham was a brave, dashing officer, eager to make a 
record for himself, and it was with difficulty that I could 
trail fast enough to keep out of the way of the impatient 
soldiers. Every few moments Captain Graham would ride 
up to see if the trail was freshening and how soon we should 
be likely to overtake the thieves. 

At last we reached the Saline river, where we found the 
Indians had only stopped to feed and water the animals, and 
had then pushed on towards the Solomon. After crossing 
the Saline they made no effort to conceal their trail, thinking 
they would not be pursued beyon-d that point — consequently 
we were able to make excellent time. We reache'd the Solo- 
man before sunset, and came to a halt ; we surmised that if 
the Indians were camped on this river, that they had no sus- 
picion of our being in the neighborhood. I advised Captain 
Graham to remain with the company where it was, while I 
went ahead on a scout to find the Indians, if they were in 
the vicinity. 

After riding some distance down the ravine that led to 
the river, I left my horse at the foot of a hill ; then, creeping 
to the top, I looked cautiously over the summit upon the 
Solomon, below. I at once discovered in plain view, not a 
mile away, a herd of horses grazing, our lost ones among 
them ; very shortly 1 made out the Indian camp, noted its 
lay, and how we could best approach it. Keporting to 



A WELL LAID PLAX. 



159 



Captain Graliam, whose eyes fairly danced witli delight at 
the prospect of surprising and whipping the redskins, we 
concluded to wait until the moon rose, then get into the tim- 
ber so as to approach the Indians as closely as possible with- 
out being discovered, and finally to make a sudden dash into 
their camp, and clean them out. We had everything " cut 
and dried," as we thought, but, alas ! just as we were near- 
ing the point where we were to take the open ground and 




THE INDIAN HORSE THIEVES. 



make our charge, one of the colored gentlemen became so 
excited that he fired off his gun. We immediately com- 
menced the charge, but the firing of the gun and the noise 
of our rush through the crackling timber alarmed tlie Indi- 
ans, who at once sprang to their horses and were away from 
118 before we reached their late camp. Captain Graham 
called out " Follow me boys ! " which we did for awhile, but 
in the darkness the Indians made good their escape. The 



160 



LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 



bugle then gave the re-call, but some of the darkies did not 
get back until morning, having, in their fright, allowed 
their horses to run away with them withersoever it suited 
the animal's pleasure to go. 

We followed the trail the next day for awhile, but as it 
become evident that it would be a long chase to overtake the 
enemy, and as we had rations only for the day, we com- 
menced the return. Captain Graham was bitterly disap- 
pointed in not being able to get the fight when it seemed so 
near at one time. He roundly cursed the " nigger " who 
fired the gun, and as a punishment for his carelessness, he 
was compelled to walk all the way back to Fort Hays. 



,^\'\'\^^ 




CHAPTER Xiy. 

EARNING A TITLE. 

JT was about this time that the end of the Kansas Pacific 
track was in the heart of the bufialo country, and the 
company was emploj^ing about twelve hundred men in the 
construction of the road. As the Indians were very trouble- 
some, it was difficult to obtain fresh meat for the workmen, 
and the company therefore concluded to engage the services 
of hunters to kill buffaloes. 

Having heard of my experience and success as a buffalo 
hunter, Messrs. Goddard Brothers, who had the contract for 
boarding the employees of the road, met me in Hays City 
one day and made me a good offer to become their hunter, 
and I at once entered into a contract with them. They said 
that they would require about twelve buffaloes per day ; that 
would be twenty-four haras, as we took only the hind-quar- 
ters and hump of each buffalo. As this was to be dangerous 
work, on account of the Indians, who were riding all over 
that section of the country, and as I would be obliged to go 
from five to ten miles from the road each day to hunt the 
buffaloes, accompanied by only one man with a light wagon 
for the transportation of the meat, I of course demanded a 
large salary. They could afford to remunerate me well, 
because the meat would not cost them anything. They 
agreed to give me five hundred dollars per month, provided 
I furnished them all the fresh meat required. 

161 



162 ■ LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

Leaving my partner, Rose, to complete our grading con- 
tract, I immediately began m}^ career as a buifalo liunter for 
the Kansas Pacific Railroad,. and it Avas not long before I 
acquired considerable notoriety. It was at this time that the 
very appropriate name of " Buffalo Bill," was conferred upon 
me by the road-hands. It has stuck to me ever since, and I 
have never been ashamed of it. 

During my engagement as hunter for the company — a 
period of less than eighteen months — I killed 4,280 buffa- 
loes; and I had many exciting adventures with the Indians, 
as well as hair-breadth escapes, some of which are well worth 
relating. 

One day in the spring of 1868,1 mounted Brigham and 
started for Smoky Hill River. After galloping about twenty 
miles I reached the top of a small hill overlooking the valley 
of that beautiful stream. 

As I was gazing on the landscape, I suddenly saw a band 
of about thirty Indians nearly half a mile distant; I knew 
by the way they jumped on their horses that they had seen 
me as soon as I came into sight. 

The only chance I had for my life was to make a rim for 
it, and I iminediateh^ wheeled and started back towards the 
railroad. Brigham seemed to understand what was up, and 
he struck out as if he comprehended that it was to be a run 
for life. He crossed a ravine in a few jumps, and on reach- 
ing a ridge beyond, I drew rein, looked back and saw the 
Indians coming for me at full speed and evidently well- 
mounted. 1 would have had little or no fear of being over- 
taken if Brigham had been fresh ; but as he was not, I felt 
uncertain as to how he would stand a long chase. 

My pursuers seemed to be gaining on me a little, and I 
let Brigham shoot ahead again ; when we had run about three 
miles farther, some eight or nine of the Indians were not over 
two hundred yards behind, and five or six of these seemed 
to be shortening the gap at every jump. Brigham now ex- 
erted himself more than ever, and for the next three or four 



A RACE FOR LIFE. 



165 



miles lie got " right down to business," and did some of the 
prettiest running I ever saw. But the Indians were about 
as well-mounted as I was, and one of their horses in par- 
ticular — a spotted animal — was gaining on me all the time. 
Nearly all the other horses were strung out behind for a 
distance of two miles, but still chasing after me. 

The Indian who was riding the spotted horse wns armed 
with a rifle, and would occasionally send a bullet \vliistling 




©OWN WENT HIS HORSE. 



along, sometimes striking the ground ahead of me. I saw 

that this fellow must be checked, or a stray bullet from 

his gun might hit me or my horse ; so, suddenly stopping 

Brighara, and quickly wheeling him around, I raised old 

"Lucretia" to my • shoulder, took deliberate aim at the 

Indian and his horse, hoping to hit one or the other, and 

fired. He was not over eighty yards from me at this time, 

and at the crack of my rifle down went his horse. Not 

waiting to "see if he recovered, I turned Brigham, and in Sk 
10 



166 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

moment we were again fairly flying towards our destina- 
tion ;, we had urgent business about that time, and were in a 
hurry to get there. 

The other Indians had gained on us while I was engaged 
in shooting at their leader, and they sent several shots whiz- 
zing past me, but fortunately none of them hit the intended 
mark. To return their compliment I occasionally wheeled 
myself in the saddle and fired back at them, and one of my 
shots broke the leg of one of their horses, which left its 
rider Kors (e) de combat, as the French would say. 

Only seven or eight Indians now reniained in dangerous 
proximity to me, and as their horses were beginning to lag 
somewhat, I checked my faithful old steed a little, to allow 
him an opportunity to draw an extra breath or two. I had 
determined, if it should come to the worst, to drop into a 
buffalo wallow, where I could stand the Indians off for a 
while ; but I was not compelled to do this, as Erigham car- 
ried me through most nobly. 

The chase was kept up until we came within three miles 
of the end of the railroad track, where two companies of 
soldiers were stationed for the purpose of protecting the 
workmen from the Indians. One of the outposts saw the 
Indians chasing me across the prairie, and gave the alarm. 
In a few minutes I saw, greatly to my delight, men coming 
on foot, and cavalrymen, too, came galloping to our rescue 
as soon as they could mount their horses. When the Indians 
observed this, they turned and ran in the direction from 
which they had come. In a very few minutes I was met by 
some of the infantrymen and trackmen, and jumping to the 
ground and pulling the blanket and saddle oft' of Brigham, 
I told them what he had done for me ; they at once took 
him in charge, led him around, and rubbed him down so 
vigorously that I thought they would rub him to death. 

Captain Nolan, of the Tenth Cavalry, now came up with 
forty of his men, and upon learning what had happened he 
determined to pursue the Indians. He kindly offered me 



S.^' P.'.O.l. 

PAYING THEM IN THEIR OWN COIN. 167 

one of the cavalry horses, and after putting my own saddle 
and bridle on the animal, we started out after the flying 
Indians, who only a few minutes before had been making 
it so uncomfortably lively for me. Our horses were all 
fresh and of excellent stock, and we soon began shortening 
the distance between ourselves and the redskins. Before 
they had gone five miles we overtook and killed eight of 
their number. The others succeeded in making their escape. 
On coming up to the place where I had killed the first horse 
— the spotted one — on my " home run," I found that my 
bullet had struck him in the forehead and killed him instant- 
ly. He was a noble animal, and ought to have been engaged 
in better business. 

When we got back to camp I found old Brigham grazing 
quietly and contentedly on the grass. He looked up at me 
as if to ask if we had got away with any of those fellows 
who had chased us. I believe he read the answer in my eyes. 

Another very exciting hunting adventure of mine which 
deserves a place in these reminiscences occurred near Saline 
river. My companion at the time was a man called Scotty, 
a butcher, who generally accompanied me on these hunting 
expeditions to cut up the buffaloes and load the meat into a 
light wagon which he brought to carry it in. He was a 
brave little fellow and a most excellent shot. I had killed 
some fifteen buffaloes, and we had started for home with a 
wagon-load of meat. When within about eight miles of our 
destination, we suddenly ran on to a party of at least thirty 
Indians who came riding out of the head of a ravine. 

On this occasion I was mounted on a most excellent horse 
belonging to the railroad company, and could easily have 
made my escape ; but of course I could not leave Scotty 
who was driving a pair of mules hitched to the wagon. To 
think was to act, in those days ; and as Scotty and I had 
often talked over a plan of defense in case we- were ever 
surprised by Indians, we instantly proceeded to carry it out. 
We jumped to the ground, unhitched the mules quicker than 



168 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

it had ever been done before, and tied them and my horse to 
the wagon. We threw the buffalo hams npon the ground, 
and piled them around the wheels in such a shape as to form 
a breastwork. All this was done in a shorter time than it 
takes to tell it; and then, with our extra box of ammunition 
and three or four extra revolvers, which we always carried 
along with us, we crept under the wagon and were fully 
prepared to give our visitors the warmest kind of a recep- 
tion. 

The Indians came on pell-mell, but when they were with- 
in one hundred yards of us we opened such a sudden and 
galling fire npon them, that they held up and began to cir- 
cle around the wagon instead of riding up to take tea with 
us. They however charged back and forth upon us several 
times, and their shots killed the two mules and my horse ; 
but we gave it to them right and left, and had the satisfac- 
tion of seeing three of them fall to the ground not more 
than fifty yards away. On seeing how well we were forti- 
fied and protected by our breastwork of hams, they proba- 
bly came to the conclusion that it would be a difficult under- 
taking to dislodge us, for they drew off and gave us a rest, 
but only a short one. 

This was the kind of fighting we had been expecting for 
a long time, as we knew that sooner or later we would be 
"jumped'' by Indians while we were out buffalo hunting. 
I had an understanding with the officers who commanded 
the troops at the end of the track, that in case their pickets 
should at any time notice a smoke in the direction of our 
hunting ground, they were to give the alarm, so that assist- 
ance might be sent to us for the smoke was to indicate that 
we were in danger. 

I now resolved to signal to the troops in the manner 
agreed on, and at the first opportunity set fire to the grass, 
on the windward side of the wagon. The fire spread over 
the prairie at a rapid rate, causing a dense smoke which I 
knew would be seen at the camp. The Indians did not 



CORRALED BY INDIANS. 



169 



seem to understand this strategic movement. They got off 
from their horses, and from behind a bank or knoll, again 
peppered away at us; but we were well fortified, and when- 
ever they showed their heads we let them know that we 
could shoot as well as they. 

After we had been cooped np in our little fort, for about 
an hour, we discovered cavalry coming toward ns at full 
gallop over the prairie. Our signal of distress had proved 




THE FIRE SIGNAL. 



a success. The Indians saw the soldiers at about the same 
time that we did, and thinking that it would not be healthy 
for them to remain much longer in that vicinity, they 
mounted their horses and disappeared down the canons of 
the creek. When the soldiers came up we had the satisfac- 
tion of showing them five " good " Indians, that is dead ones. 
Two hours later we pulled into camp with our load of 
meat, which was found to be all right, except that it had a 
few bullets and arrows sticking in it. 



170 



LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 



While I was hunting for the Kansas Pacific railway, 1 had 
the pleasure, in the fall of 1 867, of meeting the celebrated 
Kit Carson, one of, if not the oldest and most noted scout, 
guide, and hunter that our western country has ever produced. 
He was on his way to Washington. I also met him on his 
return from the East, and invited him to be my guest for a 
few days at Hays City, which invitation he accepted. He 
then proceeded to Fort Lyon, Colorado, near which place 
his son-in-law, Mr. Boggs, and family, resided. At this time 
his health was failing, and shortly afterwards he died at Mr. 
Boggs' residence on the Picket Wire Creek. 




KIT CAHcoy. 



CHAPTEE XV. 

CHAMPION BUFFALO KILLER. 

SHOETLY after the adventures mentioned in the pre- 
ceding chapter, I had my celebrated buffalo hunt with 
Billy Comstoek, a noted scout, guide and interpreter, who 
was then chief of scouts at Fort Wallace, Kansas. Corn- 
stock had the reputation, for a long time, of being a most 
successful buff"alo hunter, and the officers in particular, who 
had seen him kill buffaloes, were very desirous of backing 
him in a match against me. It was accordingly arranged 
that I should shoot him a buffalo-killing match, and the pre- 
liminaries were easijy and satisfactorily agreed upon. We 
were to hunt one day of eight hours, beginning at eight 
o'clock in the morning, and closing at four o'clock in the 
afternoon. The wager was five hundred dollars a side, and 
the man who should kill the greater number of buffaloes 
from on horseback was to be declared the winner. 

The hunt took place about twenty miles east of Sheridan, 
and as it had been pretty well advertised and noised abroad, 
a large crowd witnessed the interesting and exciting scene. 
An excursion party, mostly from St. Louis, consisting of 
about a hundred gentlemen and ladies, came out on a special 
train to view the sport, and among the number was my 
wife, with little baby Arta, who had come to remain with 
me for a while. 

171 



1Y2 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

The biiifaloes were quite plenty, and it M^as agreed that 
we should go into the same herd at the same time and 
"make a run," as we called it, each one killing as many as 
possible. A referee was to follow each of us on liorseback 
when we entered the herd, and count the buffaloes killed by 
each man. The St. Louis excui-sionists, as well as the other 
spectators, rode out to the vicinity of the hunting grounds in 
wagons and on horseback, keeping well out of sight of the 
buffaloes, so as not to frighten them, until the time came 
for us to dash into the herd ; when they were to come up as 
near as they pleased and wittiess the chase. * \ 

"We were fortunate in the first run in getting good ground. 
Comstock was mounted on one of his favorite horses, while 
I rode old Brigham. I felt confident that 1 had the advan- 
tage of Comstock in two things — first, I had the best buf- 
falo horse that ever made a track ; and second, I was using 
what was known at that time as the needle-gun, a breech- 
loading Springfield rifle — calibre 50, — it was my favorite old 
" Lucretia," which has already been introduced to the notice 
of the reader; while Comstock was armed with a Henry 
rifle, and although he could fire a few shots quicker than 1 
could, yet I was pretty certain that it did not carry powder 
and lead enough to do execution equal to my calibre 50. 

At last the time came to begin the match. Comstock and 
I dashed into a herd, followed by the referees. The buf- 
faloes separated ; Comstock took the left bunch and I the 
right. My great forte in killing buffaloes frOm horseback 
was to get them circling by riding my horse at the head of 
the herd, shooting the leaders, thus crowding their followers 
to the left, till they would finall}'' circle round and round. 

On this morning the buffaloes were very accommodating, 
and I soon had them running in a beautiful circle, when I 
dropped them thick and fast, until I had killed thirty-eight; 
which finished my run. 

Comstock began shooting at the rear of the herd, which 
he was chasing, and they kept straight on. He succeeded, 



A GREAT BUFFALO KILLING MATCH. 173 

however, in killing twenty-three, but they were scattered 
over a distance of tliree miles, while mine lay close together. 
I had " nursed " my buffiiloes, as a billiard-player does the 
balls when he makes a big run. 

After the result of the tirst run had been duly announccdy 
our St. Louis excursion friends — who had approached to the 
place where we had stopped — set out a lot of champagne, 
which they had brought with them, and which proved a 
good drink on a Kansas prairie, and a buft'alo hunter was a 
good man to get away with it. 

While taking a short rest, we suddenly spied another herd 
of buffaloes comirf^ toward us. It was only a small drove, 
and we at once prepared to give the animals a lively recep- 
tion. They proved to be a herd of cows and calves — which, 
by the way, are quicker in their movements than the bulls. 
We charged in among them, and I concluded my run with a 
score of eighteen, while Comstock killed fourteen. The 
score now stood fifty-six to thirty-seven, in my favor. 

Again the excursion party approached, and once more the 
champagne was tapped. After we had eaten a lunch which 
was spread for us, we resumed the hunt. Striking out for 
a distance of three miles, we came up close to another herd. 
As I was so far ahead of my competitor in the number 
killed, I thought I could afford to give an extra exhibition 
of my skill. I had told the ladies that I would, on the next 
run, ride my horse without saddle or bridle. This had raised 
the excitement to fever heat among the excursionists, and I 
remember one fair lady who endeavored to prevail upon me 
not to attempt it. 

" That's nothing at all," said I ; " I have done it many a 
time, and old Brigham knows as well as I what I am doing, 
and sometimes a great deal better." 

So, leaving my saddle and bridle with the wagons, we rode 
to the windward of the buffaloes, as usual, and Mdien within 
a few hundred yards of them we dashed into the herd. I 
Boon had thirteen laid out on the ground, the last one of 



174 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

•which I had driven down close to the wagons, where the 
ladies were. It frightened some of the tender creatures to 
seethe buffalo coming at full speed directly toward them; 
but when he had got within fifty yards of one of the wagons, 
I shot him dead in his tracks. This made my sixty-ninth 
buffalo, and finished my third and last run, Comstock hav- 
ing killed forty -six. 

As it was no\v late in the afternoon, Comstock and his 
backers gave up the idea that he could beat me, and there- 
upon the referees declared me the winner of the match, as 
■well as the champion buffalo-hunter of the plains.'^ 

On our way back to camp, we took with us some of the 
■choice meat and finest heads. In this connection it will not 
be out of place to state that during the time I was hunting 
for the Kansas Pacific, I always brought into camp the 
best buffalo heads, and turned them over to the company, 
i0^o found a very good use for them. They had them 
mounted in the best possible maimer, and sent them to all 
the principal cities and railroad centers in the country, hav- 
ing them placed in prominent positions at the leading hotels, 
depots, and other public buildings, as a sort of trade-mark, 
or advertisement, of the Kansas Pacific Railroad ; and to-day 
they attract the attention of the traveler almost everywhere. 
"Whenever I am traveling over the country and see one of 
these trade-marks, I feel pretty certain that I w^as the cause 



* Poor Billy Comstock was afterwards treacherously murdered by the 
Indians. He and Sliarpe Grover visited a village of Indians, supposed to 
be peaceably inclined, near Big Spring Station, in "Western Kansas; and 
after spending several hours with the redskins in friendly conversation, 
they prepared to depart, having declined an invitation to pass the night 
there. It appears that Comstock's beautiful white-handled revolver had 
attracted the attention of the Indians, who overtook him and his companion 
when they had gone about half a mile. After surrounding the two men 
they suddenly attacked them. They killed, scalped and robbed Comstock; 
but Grover, although severely wounded, made his escape, owing to the 
fleetness of the excellent horse which he was riding. Tliis sad event 
occurred August 27, 1868. 



X 



NEW LAURELS FOR BRIGHAM. 175 

of the death of tlie old fellow whose body it once orna- 
mented, and many a wild and exciting hunt is thus called to 
mind. 

Tlie end of the track finally reached Sheridan, in the 
month of May, 1868, and as the road was not to be built 
any farther just then, my services as a hunter were not any 
longer required. At this time there was a general Indian 
war rafjing^ all alono^ the western borders. General Sheridan 
had taken up his headquarters at Fort Hayes, in order to be 
in the field to superintend the campaign in person. As 
scouts and guides were in great demand, I concluded once 
more to take up my old avocation of scouting and guiding 
for the army. 

Having no suitable place in which to leave my old and 
faithful bufialo-hunter Brigham, and not wishing to kill hitn 
by scouting, I determined to dispose of him. I was very 
reluctant to part with him, but I consoled myself with the 
thought that he would not be likely to receive harder usage 
in other hands than he had in mine. I had several good 
offers to sell him ; but at the suggestion of some gentlemen 
in Sheridan, all of whom were anxious to obtain possession 
of the horse, 1 put him up at a raffle, in order to give them 
all an equal chance of becoming the owner of the famous 
steed. There were ten chances at thirty dollars each, and 
they were all quickly taken. 

Old Brigham was won by a gentleman — Mr. Ike Bonham, 
— who took him to "Wyandotte, Kansas, where he soon 
added new laurels to his already brilliant record. Although 
I am getting ahead of my story, I must now follow Brigham 
for a while. A grand tournament came off four miles from 
Wyandotte, and Brigham took part in it. As has already 
been stated, his appearance was not very prepossessing, and 
nobody suspected him of being anything but the most ordi- 
nary kind of a plug. The friends of the rider laughed at 
him for being mounted on such a dizzy-looking steed. 
"When the exercises — which were of a very tame character, 



176 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

being more for style than speed — were over, and just as 
the crowd were about to return to the city, a purse of $250 
was made up, to be given to the horse that could first reach 
Wyandotte, four miles distant. The arrangement was car- 
ried out, and Brigham was entered as one of the contestants 
for the purse. Everybody laughed at Mr. Bonham when it 
became known that he was to ride that poky-looking plug 
against the five thoroughbreds which were to take part in 
the race. 

When all the preliminaries liad been arranged, the signal 
was given, and ofif w^ent the horses for Wyandotte. For the 
first half-mile several of the horses led Brigham, but on the 
second mile he began passing them one after the other, and 
on the third mile he was in advance of them all, and was 
showing them all the road at a lively rate. On the fourth 
mile his rider let him out, and arrived at the hotel — the 
home-station — in Wyandotte a long way ahead of his fastest 
competitor. 

Everybody was surprised, as well as disgusted, that such a 
homely "critter" should be the winner. Brigham, of 
course, had already acquired a wide reputation, and his 
name and exploits had often appeared in the newspapers, 
and when it was learned that this " critter" was none other 
than the identical buffalo -hunting Brigham, nearly the 
whole crowd admitted that they had heard of him before, 
and had they known him in the first place they certainly 
would have ruled him out. 

I finally lost track of Brigham, and for several years I did 
not know what had become of him. Three years ago, while 
I was at Memphis, Tennessee, I met a Mr. Wilcox, who had 
been one of the superintendents of construction of the Kan- 
sas Pacific Railroad, and he informed me that he owned 
Brigham, and that he was at that time on his farm, only a 
few miles out of town. The next day I rode out with Mr. 
Wilcox and took a look at the gallant old horse. He was 
comfortably cared for in Mr. Wilcox's stable, and looked the 



BRIGHAM'S PRESENT HOME. 



17T 



same clever pony that lie always was. It seemed as if he 
almost remembered me, and 1 put my arms around his neck, 
as though he had been a long-lost child. Mr. "Wilcox bought 
the horse at Wyandotte, from the gentleman who had won 
him at the raffle, and he intends to keep him as long as he 
lives. I am grateful that he is in such good hands, and 
whenever I again visit Memphis I shall surely go and see 
Brigham if he is still alive. 

But to return to the thread of my narrative, from which I 
have wandered. Having i-eceived the appointment of guide 
and scout, and having been ordered to report at Fort Larned, 
then commanded by Captain Dangerfield Parker, I saw it 
was necessary to take my family — who had remained with 
me at Sheridan, after the buffiilo-hunting match — to Leaven- 
worth, and there leave them. This I did at once, and after 
providing them with a comfortable little home, I returned 
and reported for duty at Fort Larned. 




CHAPTER XVI. 

A COUKIEK. 

THE scouts at Tort Larned, -vvlien I arrived there, were 
commanded by Dick Curtis — an old guide, frontiersman 
and Indian interpreter. There were some three hundred 
lodges of Kiowa and Comanche Indians camped near the 
fort. These Indians had not as yet gone upon the war- 
path^ but were restless and discontented, and their leading 
chiefs, Satanta, Lone Wolf, Kicking Bird, Satank, Sittamore, 
and other noted warriors, were rather saucy. The post at 
the time was garrisoned by only two companies of infantry 
and one of cavalry. . 

General Hazen, who was at the post, was endeavoring to 
pacify the Indians and keep them from going on the war- 
path. I was appointed as his special scout, and one morning 
he notified me that he was going to Fort Harker, and wished 
me to accompany him as far as Fort Zarah, thirty miles dis- 
tant. The General usually traveled in an ambulance, but 
tihis trip he was to make in a six-mule wagon, under the 
escort of a squad of twenty infantrymen. So, early one 
morning in August, we started ; arriving safely at Fort 
Zarah at twelve o'clock. General Hazen thought it unneces- 
sary that we should go farther, and he proceeded on his way 
to Fort Harker without an escort, leaving instructions that 
we should return to Fort Larned the next day. 

178 



SURPRISED BY INDIANS. 



179 



After the General had gone I went to the sergeant in 
comtnand of the squad, and told him that I was going back 
that very afternoon, instead of waiting till the next morn- 
ing; and I accordingly saddled up my mule and set out for 
Fort Larned. I proceeded uninterruptedly until I got about 
half-way between the two posts, when at Pawnee Rock I 
was suddenly "jumped " by about forty Indians, who came 
dashinor np to me, extending their hands and saying, "How! 




A BIG JOKE. 



How!" They were some of the same Indians who had 
been hanging around Fort Larned in the morning. I saw 
that they had on their war-paint, and were evidently now 
out on the war-path. 

My first impulse was to shake hands with them, as they 
seemed so desirous of it. I accordingly reached out my 
hand to one of them, who grasped it with a tight grip, and 
jerked me violently forward ; another pulled my mule by 
t^ bridle, and in a moment I was completely surrounded. 



180 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

Before I could do anything at all, thej liad seized my 
revolvers from the liolsters, and I received a blow on the 
head from a tomahawk which nearly rendered me senseless. 
My gun, which was lying across the saddle, was snatched 
from its place, and finally the Indian, who had hold of the 
bridle, started off towards the Arkansas River, leading the 
mule, which was being lashed by the other Indians who 
were following. 

The savages were all singing, yelling and whooping, as 
only Indians can do, when they are having their little game 
all their own way. While looking toM^ards the river I saw, 
on the opposite side, an immense village moving down along 
the bank, and then I became convinced that the Indians had 
left the post and were now starting out on the war-patli. 
My captors crossed the stream with me, and as we waded 
throngh the shallow water they continned to lash the mule 
and mvself. Finally they brought me before an important 
looking body of Indians, who proved to be the chiefs and 
principal warriors. I soon recognized old Satanta among 
them, as well as others whom I knew, and I supposed it was 
all over with me. 

The Indians were jabbering away so rapidly among them- 
selves that I could not understand what they were saying. 
Satanta at last asked me where I had been ; and, as good 
luck would have it, a happy thought struck me. I told him 
I had been after a herd of cattle or " whoa-haws," as they 
called them. It so happened that the Indians had been out 
of meat for several weeks, as the large herd of cattle which 
had been promised them had not yet arrived, although ex- 
pected by them. 

The moment that I mentioned that I had been searching 
for the "whoa-haws," old Satanta began questioning me in 
a very eager manner. He asked me where the cattle were, 
and I replied that they were back only a few miles, and that 
I had been sent by General Hazen to inform him that the 
cattle were coming, and that they were intended for his 



MY ESCAPE FROM THE KIOWAS. 181 

people. This seemed to please the old rascal, who also 
wanted to know if there were any soldiers with the herd, 
and my reply was that there were. Thereupon the chiefs 
held a consultation, and presently Satanta asked me if Gen- 
eral Ilazeu had really said that they should have the cattle. 
I replied iu the affirmative, and added that I had been 
directed to bring the cattle to them. I followed this up 
with a very dignified inquiry, asking why his young men 
had treated me so. The old wretch intimated that it was 
only " a freak of the boys " ; that the young men had 
wanted to see if I was brave ; in fact, they had only meant 
to test my bravery, and that the whole thing was a joke. 

The veteran liar was now beating me at my own game of 
lying ; but I was very glad of it, as it was in ray favor. I 
did not let him suspect that I doubted his veracity, but I 
remarked that it was a rough way to treat friends. He im- 
mediately ordered his young men to give me back my arms, 
and scolded them for what they had done. Of course, the 
sly old dog was now playing it very fine, as he was anxious 
to get possession of the cattle, with which he believed 
" there was a heap of soldiers coming." He had concluded 
it was not best to fight the soldiers if he could get the cattle 
peaceably. 

Another council was held by the chiefs, and in a few 
minutes old Satanta came and asked me if I would go over 
and bring the cattle down to the opposite side of the river, 
so that they could get them. I replied, " Of course ; that's 
my instruction from General Hazen." 

Satanta said 1 must not feel angry at his young men, for 

they had only been acting in fun. He then inquired if I 

wished any of his men to accompany me to the cattle herd. 

I replied that it would be better for me to go alone, and 

and then the soldiers could keep right on to Fort Larned, 

while I could drive the herd down on the bottom. So, 

wheeling my mnle around, I was soon re-crossing the river, 

leaving old Satanta in the firm belief that I had told him a 
11 



182 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

straight story, and was going for the cattle, which only ex- 
isted in my imagination. 

I hardly knew what to do, but thought that if I could get 
the river between the Indians and myself I would have a 
good three-quarters of a mile the start of them, and could 
then make a run for Fort Larned, as my mule was a good one. 

Thus far my cattle story had panned oiit all right ; but 
just as I reached the opposite bank of the river, I looked 
behind and saw that ten or fifteen Indians who had begun 
to suspect something crooked, were following me. The 
moment that my mule secured a good foothold on the bank, 
I urged him into a gentle lope towards the j^lace where, 
according to my statement, the cattle M'ere to be brought. 
Upon reaching a little ridge, and riding down the other side 
out of view, 1 turned my mule and headed him westward 
for Fort Larned. I let him out for all that he was worth, 
and when I came out on a little rise of ground, I looked back, 
and saw the Indian village in plain sight. My pursuers 
were now on the ridge which I had passed over, and were 
looking for me in eveiy direction. 

Presently they spied me, and seeing that I was running^ 
away, they struck out in swift pursuit, and in a few minutes 
it became painfully evident that they were gaining on me. 
They kept up the chase as far as Ash Creek, six miles from 
Fort Larned. I still led them half a mile, as their horses 
had not gained much during the last half of the race. My 
mule seemed to have gotten his second wind, and as I was 
on the old road I had played the whip and spurs on him 
without much cessation. The Indians likewise had urged 
their steeds to the utmost. 

Finally, upon reaching the dividing ridge between Asli 
Creek and Pawnee Fork, I saw Fort Larned only four miles 
away. It was now sundown, and I heard the evening gun 
at the fort. The troops of the garrison little dreamed that 
there was a man flying for his life from the Indians and try- 
ing to reach the post. The Indians were once more gaining^ 




AMBUSHING THE INDIANS. 



AMBUSHING THE INDIANS. 185 

on me, and when I crossed the Pawnee Fork, two miles from 
the post, two or three of them were only a quarter of a mile 
behind me. Just as I had gained the opposite bank of the 
stream I was overjoyed to see some soldiers in a government 
wagon, only a short distance off. I yelled at the top of my 
voice, and riding up to them, told them that the Indians 
were after me. 

Denver Jim, a well-known scout, asked how many there 
were, and upon my informing him that there were about a 
dozen, he said: "Let's drive the wagon into the trees, and 
we'll lay for 'em." The team was hurriedly driven in among 
the trees and low box-elder bushes, and there secreted. 

We did not have to wait long for the Indians, who came 
dashing up, lashing their horses, which were panting and 
blowing. We let two of them pass by, but we opened a 
lively fire on the next three or four, killing tM'o at the first 
crack. The others following, discovered that they had run 
into an ambush, and whirling off into the brush they turned 
and ran back in the direction whence they had come. The 
two who had passed heard the firing and made their escape. 
We scalped the two that we had killed, and appropriated 
their arms and equipments ; and then catching their horses, 
we made our way into the post. The soldiers had heard us 
firing, and as we were approaching the fort the drums were 
being beaten, and the bugjers were sounding the call to fall 
in. The oflicers had thought that Satanta and his Indians 
were coming in to capture the fort. 

It seems that on the morning of that day, two hours after 
General Hazen had taken his departure, old Satanta drove 
into the post in an ambulance, which he had received some 
months before as a present from the government. He 
appeared to be angry and bent on mischief. In an interview 
with Captain Parker, the commanding ofiicer, he asked why 
General Hazen had left the post without supplying the beef 
cattks which had been promised to him. The Captain told 
him that the cattle were surely on the road, but he could not 
explain why they were detained. 



186 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

The interview j)roved to be a stormy one, and Satanta 
made numerous threats, saying that if he wished, he could 
capture the whole post with his warriors. Captain Parker, 
who was a brave man, gave Satanta to understand that he 
was reckoning beyond his powers, and would find it a more 
difficult undertaking than he had any idea of, as they were 
prepared for him at any moment. The interview finally 
terminated, and Satanta angrily left the ofiicers presence. 
Going over to the sutler's store he sold his ambulance to Mr. 
Tappan the past trader, and with a portion of the proceeds 
he secretly managed to secure some whisky from some bad 
men around the fort. There are always to be found around 
every frontier post some men who will sell whisky to the 
Indians at any time and under any circumstances, notwith- 
standing it is a flagrant violation of both civil and military 
regulations. 

Satanta mounted his horse, and taking the whisky with 
him, he rode rapidly away and proceeded straight to his vil- 
lage, lie had not been gone over an hour, when he returned 
to the vicinity of the post accompanied by his warriors who 
came in from every direction, to the number of seven or 
eight hundred. It was evident that the irate old rascal was 
"on his ear," so to speak, and it looked as if he intended to 
carry out his threat of capturing the fort. The garrison at 
once turned out and prepared to receive the red-skins, who, 
■when within half a mile, circled around the fort and fired 
numerous shots into it, instead of trying to take it by 
assault. 

While this circular movement was going on, it was ob- 
served that the Indian village in the distance was packing 
up, preparatory to leaving, and it was soon under way. The 
mounted warriors remained behind some little time, to give 
their families an opportunity to get away, as they feared 
that the troops might possibly in some manner intercept 
them. Finally, they encircled the post several times, fired 
some farewell rounds, and then galloped away over the 



GOING ON THE WAR PATH. 187 

prairie to overtake tlieir fast departing village. On their way 
thither, they surprised and killed a party of wood-choppers 
down on the Pawnee Fork, as well as some herders who were 
guarding beef cattle ; some seven or eight men in all, were 
killed, and it was evident that the Indians meant business. 

The soldiers with the wagon — whom I had met at the 
crossing: of the Fawnee Fork — had been oiit for the bodies 
of the men. Under the circumstances it was no wonder that 
tlie garrison, upon hearing the reports of our guns when we 
fired upon the party whom we ambushed, should have 
thought the Indians were coming back to give them another 
" turn." 

"We found that all was excitement at the post ; double 
guards had been put on duty, and Captain Parker had all the 
scouts at his headquarters. He was endeavoring to get some 
one to take some important dispatches to General Sheridan 
at Fort Hays. I reported to him at once, and stated where 
I had met the Indians and how I had escaped from them. 

" You was very fortunate, Codj^, in thinking of that cat- 
tle story ; but for that little game your hair would now be 
an ornament to a Kiowa's lodge," said he. 

Just then Dick Curtis spoke up and said : " Cody, the 
Captain is anxious to send some dispatches to General Sheri- 
dan, at Fort Hays, and none of the scouts here seem to be 
very willing to undertake the trip. They say they are not 
well enough acqiiainted with the country to find the way at 
night." 

As a storm was coming up it was quite dark, and the 
scouts feared that they would lose the way ; besides it was a 
dangerous ride, as a large party of Indians were known to 
be camped on Walnut Creek, on the direct road to Fort 
Hays. It was evident that Curtis was trying to induce me 
to volunteer. I made some evasive answer to Curtis, for I 
did not care to volunteer after my long day's ride. But 
Curtis did not let the matter drop. Said he : 

" I wish, Bill, that you were not so tired by your chase of 



188 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

to-day, for you know the country better than the rest of the 
boys, and I am certahi that you could go tlirough." 

" As far as the ride to Fort Hays is concerned, that alone 
would matter but little to me," 1 said, " but it is a risky 
piece of work just now, as the country is full of hostile 
Indians; still if no other scout is willing to volunteer, I 
will chance it. I'll go, provided I am furnished with a good 
horse. I am tired of being chased on a government mule 
by Indians." At this Captain Kolan, who had been listen- 
ing to our conversation, said : 

" Bill, you may have the best horse in my company. 
You caiL take your choice if you will carry these dispatches. 
Although it is against regulations to dismount an enlisted 
man, I have no hesitancy in such a case of urgent necessity 
as this is, in telling you that you may have any horse you 
may wish." 

" Captain, your first sergeant has a splendid horse, and 
that's the one I want. If he'll let me ride that horse, I'll be 
ready to start in one hour, storm or no storm," said I. 

" Good enough, Bill ; you shall have the horse ; but are 
you sure you can find your way on such a dark night as 
this?" 

" I have hunted on nearly every acre of ground between 
here and Fort Hays, and I can almost keep my route by 
the bones of the dead buffaloes." I confidently replied. 

" Never fear, Captain, about Cody not finding the way ; he 
is as good in the dark as he is in the daylight," said Curtis. 
An orderly was sent for the horse, and the animal was 
soon brought up, although the sergeant " kicked " a little 
against letting him go. After eating a lunch and filling a 
canteen with brandy, I went to headquarters and put my 
own saddle and bridle on the horse I was to ride. I then 
got the dispatches, and bv ten o'clock was on the road to 
Fort Hays, which was sixty-five miles distant across the 
country. The scouts had all bidden me a hearty good-bye, 
and wished me success, not knowing when, if ever, they 



A WISE PRECAUTION. 



189 




would again gaze upon " my warlike form," as the poet 
would say. 

It was dark as pitch, but this I rather liked, as there was 
little probability of aiiy| 
of t h e red-skins seeing me| 
unless I stumbled upon themi 
accidentally. My greatc^^n 
•danger was that my hoi 
might run into a hole ai 
fall down, and in this v;, 
get away from m e. i 
avoid any such accident, 11 
tied one end of my raw-j 
hide lariat to the b r i d 1 ej 
s,nd the other end to myj 
belt. I didn't propose top 
be left on foot, alone ont^ 
on the prairie. 

It was, indeed, a wise pre-j 
caution that I had taken, for| 
within the next three mile^l 
the horse, sure enough, step- 
ped into a prairie-dog's hole, 
and down he went, throwing me clear over his head. Spring- 
ing to his feet, before I could catch hold of the bridle, he 
galloped away into the darkness ; but when he reached the 
full length of the lariat, he found that he was picketed to 
Bison William. 1 brought him up standing, and after find- 
ing my gnn, which had dropped to the ground, I went up 
to him and in a moment was in the saddle again, and went 
on my way rejoicing keeping straight on my course until 
I came to the ravines leading into Walnut Creek, twenty- 
five miles from Fort Lamed, w4iere the country became 
rougher, requiring me to travel slower and more carefully, 
as I feared the horse might fall over the bank, it being 
difiicult to see anything five feet ahead. As a good horse 




WHOA THKKK ! 



190 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

is not very apt to jump over a bank, if left to guide himself, 
I let mine pick liis own way. I was now proceeding as 
quietly as possible, for I was in the vicinity of a band of 
Indians who had recently camped in that locality. 1 thought 
that I had passed somewhat above the spot, having made a 
little circuit to the west with that intention ; but as bad luck 
would have it this time, when I came up near the creek I 
suddenly rode in among a h^rd of horses. The animals 
became frightened and ran off in every direction. 

I knew at once that I was among Indian horses, and had 
walked into the wrong pew ; so without waiting to apologize, 
I backed out as quickly as possible. At this moment a dog, 
not fifty yards away, set up a howl, and then I heard some 
Indians engaged in conversation ; — they were guarding the 
horses, and had been sleeping. Hearing my horse's retreat- 
ing footsteps toward the hills, and thus becoming aware that 
there had been an enemy in their camp, they mounted their 
steeds and started for me. 

I urged my horse to his full speed, taking the chances of 
his falling into holes, and guided him up the creek bottom. 
The Indians followed me as fast as they could by the noise 
I made, but I soon distanced them ; and then crossed the 
creek. 

When I had traveled several miles in a straight course, as 
I supposed, I took out my compass and by the light of a 
match saw that I was bearing two points to the east of 
north. At once changing my course to the direct route, I 
pushed rapidly on through the darkness towards Smoky 
Hill Eiver. At about three o'clock in the morning I began 
traveling more cautiously, as I was afraid of running into 
another band of Indians. Occasionally I scared up a herd of 
buffaloes, or antelopes, or coyotes, or deer, M'hicli would 
frighten my horse for a moment, but with the exception of 
these slight alarms I got along all right. 

After crossing Smoky Hill River, I felt comparatively 
safe as this was the last stream I had to cross. Eiding oa 



INTERVIEW WITH SHERIDAN. 



191 



to the northward 1 struck the old Santa Fe trail, ten miles 
from Fort Hays, just at break of day. 

My horse did not seem much fatigued, and being anxious 
to make good time and get as near the post as possible 
before it was fairly daylight as there might be bands of 
Indians camped along Big Creek, I urged him forward as 
fast as he could go. As 1 had not "lost" any Indians, I was 
not now anxious to make their acquaintance, and shortly 
after reveille rode into the post. I proceeded directly to 
General Sheridan's head- 
quarters, and was met at 
the door, by Colonel Moore, 
aid-de-camj) on General 
Sheridan's staff who asked 
me on what business I had 
come. 

^I have dispatches for 
General Sheridan, a n d my 
instructions from Captain 
Parker, commanding Fort 
Larned, are that they shall 
be delivered to the General 
as soon as possible," said I. 

Colonel Moore invited 
me into one of the offices, 
and said he would hand tlie 
dispatches to t h e General 
as soon as he got up. 

" I prefer to give these ' 
dispatches to General Sheridan myself, and at once," was 
my reply. 

The General, who was sleeping in the same building, 
hearing our voices, called out, " Send the man in with the 
dispatches." I was ushered into the General's presence, and 
as we had met before he recognized me and said : 

"Hello, Cody, is that you ? " 




DELIVERING DISPATCHES TO SHERIDAN. 



192 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

" Yes, sir ; I liave some dispatches here for you, from 
Captain Parker," said I, as I lianded the package over to 
him. 

He hurriedly read them, and said they were important ; 
and then he asked me all about General Hazen and where 
he had gone, and about the breaking out of the Kiowas and 
Comanches, I gave him all the information that I possessed, 
and related the events and adventures of the previous day 
and night. 

" Bill," said he, " you must have had a pretty lively ride. 
You certainly had a close call when you ran iijto the Indians 
on Walnut Creek. That was a good joke that you played 
on old Satanta. I suppose you're pretty tired alter your long 
journey ? " 

" I am rather weary. General, that's a fact, as I have been 
in the saddle since yesterday morning ;" was my reply, 
"but my horse is more tired than I am, and needs attention 
full as much if not more," I added. Thereupon the General 
called an orderly and gave instructions to have my animal 
well taken care of, and then he said, " Cody, come in and 
have some breakfast with me." 

" No, thank you. General," said I, " Hays City is only a 
mile from here, and I prefer riding over there, as I know 
about every one in the town, and want to see some of my 
friends." 

" Very well ; do as you please, and come to the post after- 
wards as I want to see you," said he. # 

" Bidding him good-morning, and telling him that I would 
return in a few hours, I rode over to Hays City, and at the 
Perry House I met many of ni}^ old friends who were of 
course all glad to see me. I took some refreshments and 
a two hours nap, and afterward returned to Fort Ilays, as I 
was requested. 

As I rode up to the headquarters I noticed several scouts 
in a little group, evidently engaged in conversation on some 
important matter. Upon inquiry I learned that General 



A NINETY FIVE MILE RIDE. 193 

Sheridan had informed them that he was desirous of sendiiior 
a dispatch to Fort Dodge, a distance of niuety-live miles. 

The Indians had recently killed two or three men while they 
were carrying dispatches between Fort Hays and Fort 
Dodge, and on this account none of the scouts seemed at all 
anxious to volunteer, although a reward of several hundred 
dollars was offered to any one who would carry the dis- 
patches. They had learned of my experiences of the previous 
•day, and asked me if I did not think it would be a dangerous 
trip. I gave it as my opinion that a man might possibly go 
through without seeing an Indian, but that the chances were 
ten to one that he would have an exceedingly lively run 
and a hard time before he reached his destination, if he ever 
got there at all. 

Leaving the scouts to decide among themselves as to who 
was to go, I reported to General Sheridan, who also 
informed me that he wished some one to carry dispatches to 
Fort Dodge. While we were talking, his chief of scouts 
Dick Parr, entered and stated tliat none of the scouts had 
yet volunteered. Upon hearing this I got my " brave " up 
a little, and said : 

" General, if there is no one ready to volunteer, I'll carry 
your dispatches myself." 

"I had not thought of asking you to do this duty, Cody, 
as you are already pretty hard worked. But it is really 
important that these dispatches should go through," said the 
•General. 

" Well, if you don't get a courier by four o'clock this 
afternoon, I'll be ready for business at that time. All I 
want is a fresh horse," said I; "meantime I'll take a little 
more rest." 

It was not much of a rest, however, that I got, for I went 
over to Hays City again and had "a time with the boys." 
I came back to the post at the appointed hour, and finding 
that no one had volunteered, I reported to General Sheri- 
dan. He had selected an excellent horse for me, and on. 
handing me the dispatches he said : 



194 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

" You can start as soon as you wish — the sooner the bet- 
ter ; and good luck go with you, my boy." 

In about an hour afterwards I was on the road, and just 
before dark I crossed Smoky Hill River. I had not yet 
urged my horse much, as I was saving his strength for the 
latter end of the route, and for any run that I might have 
to make in case the "wild-boys" should "jump" me. So 
far I had not seen a sign of Indians, and as evening came on 
I felt comparatively safe. 

I had no adventures worth relating during the night, and 
just before daylight I found myself approaching Saw-log 
Crossing, on the Pawnee Fork, having then ridden about 
seventy miles. 

A company of colored cavalry, commanded by Major Cox, 
was stationed at this point, and I approached their camp cau- 
tiously, for fear that the pickets might fire upon me — as the 
darkey soldiers were liable to shoot first and cry "halt" 
afterwards. When within hearing distance I yelled out at 
the top of my voice, and was answered by one of the pickets. 
I told him not to shoot, as I was a scout from Fort Hays; 
and then, calling the sergeant of the guard, I went up to the 
vidette of the post, who readily recognized me. I entered 
the cam^ and proceeded to the tent of Major Cox, to whom 
I handed a letter from General Sheridan requesting him to 
give me a fresh horse. He at once complied with the 
request. 

After I had slept an hour and had eaten a lunch, I again 
jumped into the saddle, and before sunrise I was once more 
on the road. It was twenty-five miles to Fort Dodge, and 
I arrived there between nine and ten o'clock, without having 
seen a single Indian. 

After delivering the dispatches to the commanding oificer, 
I met Johnny Austin, chief of scouts at this post, who was 
an old friend of mine. Upon his invitation I took a nap at 
his house, and when I awoke, fresh for business once more, 
he informed me that the Indians had been all around the 



A LONG WALK. 195 

post for the past two or three days, running off cattle and 
horses, and occasionally killing a stray man. It was a won- 
der to him that I had met with none of the red-skins on the 
way there. The Indians, he said, were also very thick on 
the Arkansas River, between Fort Dodge and Fort Larned, 
and making considerable trouble. Fort Dodge was located 
sixty -five miles west of Fort Larned, the latter post being on 
the Pawnee Fork, about five miles from its junction with 
the Arkansas River. 

The commanding officer at Fort Dodge was anxious to 
send some dispatches to Fort Larned, but the scouts, like 
those at Fort Hays, were rather backward about volunteer- 
ing, as it was considered a very dangerous undertaking to 
make the trip. As Fort Larned was my post, and as I 
wanted to go there anyhow, I said to Austin that I would 
carry the dispatches, and if any of the boys wished to 
go along, I would like to have them for company's sake. 
Austin reported my offer to the commanding officer, who 
sent for me and said he would be happy to have me take 
his dispatches, if I could stand the trip on top of all that 
I had already done. 

" All I want is a good fresh horse, sir," said I. 

" I am sorry to say that we havent a decent horse here, 
but we have a reliable and honest government mule, if that 
will do you," said the officer. 

" Trot out your mule," said I, "that's good enough for me. 
I am ready at any time, sii\" 

The mule was forthcoming, and at dark I pulled out for 
Fort Larned,and proceeded uninterruptedly to Coon Creek, 
thirty miles out from Dodge. I had left the main wagon 
road some distance to the south, and had traveled parallel 
with it, thinking this to be a safer course, as the Indians 
might be lying in wait on the main road for dispatch bearers 
and scouts. 

At Coon Creek I dismounted and led the mule by the 
bridle down to the Water, where I took a drink, using my 



196 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

liat for a dipper. While I was engaged in getting tlie 
water, the mule jerked loose and struck out down the 
creek. I followed him in hopes that he would catch his foot 
in the bridle rein and stop, but this he seemed to have no 
idea of doing. He was making straight for the wagon road, 
and I did not know what minute he might run into a band 
of Indian^. He finally got on the road, but instead of going 
back toward Fort Dodge, as I naturally expected he would 
do, he turned eastward toward Fort Lamed, and kept up a 
little jog trot just ahead of me, but would not let me come 
up to him, although I tried it again and again. 1 had my 
gun in my hand, and several times I was strongly tempted 
to shoot him, and would probably have done so had it not 
been for fear of bringing Indians down upon me, and 
besides he was carrying the saddle for me. So I trudged 
on after the obstinate " critter," and if there ever was a 
government mule that deserved and received a good round 
cursing it was that one. I had neglected the precaution of 
tying one end of my lariat to his bit and the other to my 
belt, as I had done a few nights before, and I blamed 
myself for this gross piece of negligence. 

Mile after mile 1 kept on after that mule, and every once 
in a while 1 indulged in strong language respecting the 
whole mule fraternity. From Coon Creek to Fort Larned 
it was thirty-five miles, and I finallj^ concluded that my 
prospects were good for "hoofing" the M^hole distance. 
"We — that is to say, the confounded mule and myself — were 
making pretty good time. There was nothing to hold the 
mule, and I was all the time trying to catch him — which 
urged him on. I made every step count, for I wanted to 
reach Fort Larned before daylight, in order to avoid if possi- 
ble the Indians, to whom it would have been " pie " to have 
caught me there on foot. 

The mule stuck to the road and kept on for Larned, and 
I did the same thing. Just as day was beginning to break. 



THE TWO TRAMPS. 



19T 



we — that is the mule and 
myself — found ourselves 
on a hill looking down into 
the valley of the Pawnee 
Fork, in which Fort Lar- 
ned was located, only four 
miles away ; and when the 
morning gun belched forth 
we were within half a mile 
of the post. 

" Now," said I, "Mr. 
Mule, it is my turn," and 
raising my gun to my 
shoulder, in "dead earn- 
est" this time, I blazed 
away, hitting tlie animal 
in the hip. Throwing a 
second cartridge into the 
gun, 1 let him have an- 
other sliot, and I con- 
tinued to pour the lead 
into him until I had him 
completely laid out. Like 
the great majority of gov- 
ernment mules, he was a 
tough one to kill, and he 
clung to life with all the 
tenaciousness of his ob- 
stinate nature. He was, 
without doubt, the tough- 
est and meanest mule I 
ever saw, and he died 
hard. 

The troops, hearing the 
reports of the gun, came 
rushino; out to see what 




198 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

was the matter. They found that the mule had passed in 
his chips, and when they learned the cause they all agreed 
that I had served him just right. Taking the saddle and 
bridle from the dead body, I proceeded into the post and 
delivered the dispatches to Captain Parker. I then went 
over to Dick Curtis' house, which was headquarters for the 
scouts, and there put in several hours of solid sleep. 

During the day General Hazen returned from Fort Har- 
ker, and he also had some important dispatches to send to 
General Sheridan. I was feeling quite elated over my big 
ride ; and seeing that I was getting the best of the other 
scouts in regard to making a record, I volunteered to carry 
General Hazen's dispatches to Fort Hays. The General 
accepted my services, although he thought it was unneces- 
sary for me to kill myself. I told him that I had business 
at Fort Hays, and "wished to go there anyway, and it would 
make no difference to the other scouts, for none of them 
appeared willing to undertake the trip. 

Accordingly, that night I left Fort Larned on an excellent 
horse, and next morning at daylight found myself once more 
in General Sheridan's headquarters at Fort Hays. The 
General was surprised to see me, and still more so when I 
told him of the time I had made in riding to Fort Dodge, 
and that I had taken dispatches from Fort Dodge to Fort 
Larned ; and when, in addition to this, I mentioned my 
journey of the night previous. General Sheridan thought 
my ride from post to post, taken as a whole, was a remark- 
able one, and he said that he did not know of its equal. . I 
can safely say that I have never heard of its being beaten in 
a country infested with hostile Indians. 

To recapitulate : I had ridden from Fort Larned to Fort 
Zarah (a distance of sixty-five miles) and back in twelve 
hours, including the time when I was taken across the 
Arkansas by the Indians. In the succeeding twelve hours 
I had gone from Fort Larned to Fort Hays, a distance of 
sixty-five miles. In the next twenty-four hours I had gone 



RECAPITULATION. 



199 



from Fort Hays to Fort Dodge, a distance of ninety-five 
miles. The following night I had traveled from Fort Dodge 
thirty miles on muleback and thirty-five miles on foot to 
Fort Larned ; and the next night sixty-five miles more to 
Fort Hays. Altogether 1 had ridden (and walked) 355 
miles in fifty-eight riding hours, or an average of over six 
miles an hour. Of course, this may not be regarded as very 
fast riding, but taking into consideration the fact that it was 
mostly done in the night and over a wild country, with no 
roads to follow, and that I had to be continually on the look 
out for Indians, it was thought at the time to be a big ride, 
as well as a most dangerous one. 




13 



CHAPTER XVII. 



AN APPOINTMENT. 



/^ENEEAL SHERIDAN highly complimented me for 
vX what I had done, and informed me that I need not 
report back to General Hazen, as he had more important 
work for me to do. He told me that the Fifth Cavalry — 
one of the finest regiments in the army — was on its way to 
the Department of the Missouri, and that he was going to 
send it on an expedition against the Dog Soldier Indians, 
who were infesting the Republican River region. 

" Cody," continued he, " I have decided to appoint you as 
guide and chief of scouts with the command. How does 
that suit you ? " 

" First-rate, General, and I thank you for the honor," I 
replied, as gracefully as I knew how. 

The Dog Soldier Indians were a band of Cheyennes and 
unruly, turbulent members of other tribes, who would 
not enter into any treaty, or keep a treaty if they made one, 
and who had always refused to go upon a reservation. They 
were a warlike body of well-built, daring and restless braves, 
and were determined to hold possession of the country 
in the vicinity of the Republican and Solomon Rivers. 
They were called " Dog Soldiers " because they were prin- 
cipally Cheyennes — a name derived from the French chien^ 
a dog. 

200 



GEN'L. FORSYTH'S EXPEDITION. 



201 




GENERAL PHIL. SHERIDAN. 



After my conversation with the General, I went over to 
Hays City, where I met some of General Forsyth's scouts, 
who had just returned from one of the severest battles ever 
fought with the In- 
dians. As it will not 
be out of place in this 
connection, I will here 
give a brief history of 
that memorable event. 

The Indians had 
become quite trouble- 
some, and General 
Sheridan had selected 
General George A. 
Forsyth to go out on 
an expedition, and 
punish them for their 
recent depredations. There was a scarcity of troops at Fort 
Hays at that time, so General Forsyth recruited a com- 
pany of frontiersmen who could move rapidly, as they were 
to carry no luggage, and were to travel without the ordinary 
transportation. Thirty of these frontiersmen came from 
Fort Harker, and twenty from Fort Hays. It was certainly 
a small body of men, but nearly every one of them was an 
experienced hunter, guide, scout and Indian-fighter, and 
they could fight the red-skins in their own A^ay. 

In four days they were prepared to take the field, and on 
the morning of the 29th of August, 1868, they rode out of 
Fort Hays to meet the Indians. Lieutenant F. H. Beecher, 
of the Third Infantry, nephew of Hemy Ward Beecher, 
was second in command ; Brevet Major-General W. H. H. 
McCall, who had been in the volunteer array, acted as first 
sergeant ; Dr. John Mowers, of Hays City, who had been a 
volunteer army surgeon, was the surgeon of the expedition; 
and Sharpe Grover was the chief guide. 

Kesting at Fort Wallace, they started September 10th, for 



202 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

the town of Sheridan, thirteen miles distant, where a band of 
Indians had attacked a train, killed two teamsters, and stolen 
some cattle. Arriving at Sheridan they easily fonnd the 
Indian trail, and followed it for some distance. On the 
eighth day out from Fort Wallace, the command went into 
camp late in the afternoon, on the Arickaree, which was 
then not more than eight or nine feet wide at that point, 
and only two or three inches deep. It was evident to the 
men that they were not far from the Indians, and it was 
decided that the next day they M^ould find them and give 
them a fight. 

Early next morning, September 19th, the cry of " Indians " 
startled the command. Every man jumped for his horse. 
A half-dozen red-skins, yelling and whooping and making a 
hideous racket, and firing their guns, rode up and attempted 
to stampede the horses, several of which, together with the 
four pack-mules, were so frightened that they broke loose 
and got away. The Indians then rode off, followed by a 
few sliots. In a minute afterAvards, hundreds of Indian 
warriors — it was estimated that there were nearly one thou- 
sand — came galloping down upon the command from ever}"- 
quarter, completely hemming them in. 

Acting under the order of General Forsyth, the men 
retreated to a small island, tied their horses in a circle to the 
bushes, and then, throwing themselves upon the ground, 
they began the defense by firing at the approaching enemy, 
who came pretty close and gave them a raking fire. The 
besieged scouts at the first opportunity threw up a small 
breastwork with their knives. The firing, however, con- 
tinued back and forth, and early in the fight Forsyth was 
twice seriously wounded — once in the right thigh, and once 
in the left leg. Dr. Mowers was also wounded in the head, 
and soon died. Two other men had been killed, and several 
wounded. All the horses of the command were killed by 
nine o'clock in the morning. 

Shortly afterwards over three hundred Dog-Soldier Indi- 



A TERRIBLE BATTLE. 203 

aus commanded by old " Komaii IS'ose," charged down upon 
the little band of heroes, giving them volley after volley ; 
but finally the scouts, at a favorable opportunity, returned 
their lire with telling effect. " Roman Nose "and "Medicine 
Man " were killed, and fell from their horses when witliin less 
than one rod of the scouts, who thereupon sent up a trium- 
phant shout. The charging braves now weakened, and in a 
few moments they were driven back. It was a brilliant 
charge, and was most nobly and bravely repulsed. The 
scouts had again suffered severely, having several men 
wounded, among the number being Lieutenant Beecherwho 
died that night. The Indians, too, had had qivite a number 
killed, several of whom had fallen close to the earthworks. 
The dismounted Indian warriors still continued firing, but 
as the scouts had thrown up their intrenchments sufficiently 
to protect themselves by closely hugging the ground, little 
or no damage was done. 

A second charge was made b}'' the mounted Indians about 
two o'clock in the afternoon, and they were again repulsed 
with a severe loss. Darkness finally came on, and then en- 
sued a cessation of hostilities. Two of the scouts had been 
killed, four fatallj' wounded, and fourteen others were 
wounded more or less severely. There were just twenty- 
eight able-bodied men left out of the fifty. The supplies 
had run out, and as Dr. Mowers had been mortally wounded 
and the medical stores captured, the wounded men could not 
be properly cared for. 

Although they were entirely surrounded, and one hundred 
and ten miles from the nearest post, the men did not despair. 
They had an abundance of ammunition, plent}^ of water, 
under ground only a short distance, and for food they had 
their horses and mules. At night two of the scouts, Tra- 
deau and Stillwell, stole through the lines of the Indians, 
and started swiftly for Fort Wallace to obtain relief. It 

o a dangerous undertaking, but they were brave and ex- 
i'ciienced scouts. Stillwell was only nineteen or twenty 



204 



LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 



years old, but lie was, in every sense of the word, a thorough- 
bred frontiersman. 

During the night the besieged scouts threw up their 
breastworks considerably higher and piled the dead animals 
on top. They dug down to water, and also stored away a 
lot of horse and mule meat in the sand to keep it fresh as 
long as possible. The Indians renewed their firing next 




BATTLE ON THE ARICKAREE. 



morning, and kept it up all day, doing but little injury, how- 
ever, as the scouts were now well entrenched ; but many an 
Indian was sent to his happy hunting ground. 

Night came again, and the prospects were indeed gloomy. 
An attempt was made by two more of the scouts to creep 
through the Indian lines, but they were detected by the 
enemy and had to return to their comrades. 

The next mornino^ the Indians renewed hostilities as usual. 



RELIEF. 205 

Their women and children began to disappear about noon, 
and then the Indians tried to draw the scouts out by dis- 
playing a white flag for a truce. They appeared to want to 
have a talk with General Forsyth, but as their treachery was 
well-known, the scouts did not fall into this trap. The Indi- 
ans had apparently become tired of fighting, especially as 
they found that they had a most stubborn foe to deal with. 

IS'ight once more threw its mantle over the scene, and 
under the cover of the darkness Donovan and Plyley, two of 
the best scouts, stealthily made their way out of the camp, 
and started for Fort Wallace with a dispatch from General 
Forsyth, who gave a brief summary of the situation, and 
stated that if necessary he could hold out for six days longer. 

When the day dawned again, only a small number of 
warriors could be seen, and they probably remained to watch 
the scouts and keep them corraled. The uninjured men at- 
tended to the wounded as well as they could under the 
adverse cii'cumstances, but from want of proper treatment, 
evidences of gangrene appeared in some of the wounds on 
the sixth day. The mule and horse meat became totally un- 
fit for use, but they had nothing else to eat, and had to eat 
it or starve. Under these trying circumstances the General 
told the men that any who wished to go rhight do so, and 
take their chances ; but they all resolved to remain, and die 
together, if need be. 

Relief came at last. Tradeau and Stillwell had safely 
reached Fort Wallace, and on the morning of the 25th of 
September, Colonel Carpenter and a detachment of cavalry 
arrived with supplies. This assistance to the besieged and 
starving scouts came like a vessel to ship-wrecked men drift- 
ing and starving on a raft in mid-ocean. 

It was with the survivors of this terrible fight that I spent 
the few days at Hays City, prior to the arrival of the Fifth 
Cavalry. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



SCOUTING. 



ON the third day of October the Fifth Cavalry arrived at 
Fort Hays, and I at once began making the acquaint- 
ance of the different officers of the regiment. I was intro- 
duced by General Sheridan to Colonel William Royal, who 
was in command of the regunent. He was a gallant officer, 
and an agreeable and pleasant gentleman. He is now sta- 
tioned at Omaha as Inspector General in the department of 
of the Platte. I also became acquainted with Major "W. H. 
Brown, Major Walker, Captain Sweetman, Quartermaster 
E. M. Hays, and in fact all the officers of the regiment. 

General Sheridan, being anxious to punish the Indians 
who had lately fought General Forsyth, did not give the 
regiment much of a rest, and accordingly on the 5th of 
October it began its march for the Beaver Creek country. 
The first night we camped on the South fork of Big Creek, 
four miles west of Hays City. By this time I had become 
pretty well acquainted with Major Brown and Captain 
Sweetman, who invited me to mess with them on this expe- 
dition ; and a jolly mess we had. There were other scouts 
in the command besides myself, and I particularly remember 
Tom Renahan, Hank Fields and a character called "Nosey" 
on account of his long nose. 

On the morning of the 6th we pulled out to the northj 

206 



THE FIFTH CAVALRY. 20T 

and during the day I was very favorably struck with the 
appearance of the regiment. It was a beautiful command, 
and when strung out on the prairie with a train of seventy- 
five six-mule wagons, ambulances and pack mules, I felt very 
proud of my position as guide and chief of scouts of such a 
warlike expedition. 

Just as we were about to go into camp on the Saline river 
that night, we ran on to a band of about fifteen Indians, 
who, seeing us, dashed across the creek, followed by some 
bullets "which we sent after them ; but as the small band 
proved to be a scouting party, we pursued them only a mile 
or two, when our attention was directed to a herd of buffaloes 
— they being very plenty — and we succeeded in killing ten 
or fifteen for the command. 

The next day we marched thirty miles, and late in the 
afternoon we w^ent into camp on the South fork of the Solo- 
mon. At this encampment Colonel Royal asked me to go 
out and kill some buffaloes for the boys. 

"All right, Colonel, send along a wagon or two to bring 
in the meat," I said. 

" I am not in the habit of sending out my wagons until I 
know that there is something to be hauled in ; kill your buf- 
falo first and then I'll send out the wagons," was the Colo- 
nel's reply. I said no more, but went out on a hunt, and 
after a short absence returned and asked the Colonel to send 
his wagons over the hill for the half dozen buffaloes I 
had killed. 

The following afternoon he again requested me to go out 
and get some fresh bufialo meat. I didn't ask him for any 
wagons this time, but rode out some distance, and coming 
np with a small herd, I managed to get seven of them headed 
straight for the encampment, and instead of shooting them 
just then, I ran them at full speed right into the camp, 
and then killed them all, one after the other in rapid suc- 
cession. Colonel Koyal witnessed the whole proceeding, 
which puzzled him somewhat, as he could see no reason why 



208 



LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 



I liad not killed them on the prairie. He came np, rather 
angrily, and demanded an explanation. " I can't allow any 
such business as this, Cody," said he, "what do you mean 
by it?"" 

" I didn't care about asking for any wagons this time. 
Colonel ; so I thought I would make the buffaloes furnish 
their own transportation," was my reply. The Colonel saw 
the point in a moment, and had no more to say on the subject. 

No Indians had been seen in the vicinity during the day, 




BRINGING MEAT INTO CAMP. 



and Colonel Royal having carefully posted his pickets, sup- 
posed everything was serene for the night. But before 
morning we were roused from our slumbers by hearing shots 
fired, and immediately afterwards one of the mounted 
pickets came galloping into camp, saying that there were 
Indians close at hand. The companies all fell into line, and 
were soon prepared and anxious to give the red-skins battle; 
but as the men were yet new in the Indian country a great 



A FALSE ALARM. 



209 



many of them were considerably excited. No Indians, how- 
even made their appearance, and upon going to the picket- 
post where the picket said he had seen them, none could be 
found, nor could any traces of them be discovered. The 
sentinel, — who was an Irishman — insisted that there cer- 
tainly had been red-skins 
there. 

" But you must be mis- 
taken," said Colonel Royal. 

" Upon me sowl, Colonel, 
I'm not ; as shure ez me 
name's Pat Maloney, one 
of thim rid divils hit me on 
the head wid a club, so he 
did," said Pat; and so, 
when morning came, the 
mystery was further inves- 
tigated and was easily 
solved. Elk tracks were 
found in the vicinity and it 
was undoubtedly a herd of 
elks that had frightened 
Pat ; as he had turned to 
run, lie had gone under a 

limb o f a tree, against _ 

which he hit his head, and supposed he had been struck by 
a club in the hands of an Indian. It was hard to convince 
Pat however, of the truth. 

A three days uninteresting march brought us to Beaver 
Creek where we camped and from which point scoutino- 
parties were sent out in different directions. Neither of these 
parties discovering Indians they all returned to camp about 
the same time, finding it in a state of great excitement, it hav- 
ing been attacked a few hours previous by a party of Indians, 
who had succeeded in killing two men and in making off 
with sixty horses belonging to Co. H. 




210 



LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 



That evening the command stai'ted on the trail of these 
Indian horse-thieves ; Major Brown with two companies and 
three days rations pushing ahead in advance of the main 
command. Being unsuccessful, however, in overtaking the 
Indians, and getting nearly out of provisions — it being our 
eighteenth day out, the entire command marched towards the 
nearest railroad point, and camped on the Saline River; dis- 
tant three miles from Buffalo Tank. 

While waiting for supplies we received a new commanding 
officer, Brevet Major-General E. A. Carr, who was the senior 
major of the regiment, and who ranked Colonel Royal, He 

brought with him 
the now celebrated 
Forsyth scouts, who 
were commanded by 
Lieutenant Pepoon, 
a regular army of- 
licer. 

It was also while 
waiting in this camp 
that Major Brown 
received a new lieu- 
tenant to fill a va- 
cancy in his com- 
gen'l e. a. carr. paiiy- On the day 

that this officer was to arrive. Major Brown had his private 
ambulance brought out, and invited me to accompany him to 
the railroad station to meet his lieutenant, whose name was 
A. B. Bache. He proved to be a fine gentleman, and a 
brave, dashing officer. On the way to the depot Major 
Brown had said, " Now, Cody, when we come back we'll 
give Bache a lively ride and shake him up a little." 

Major Brown was a jolly good fellow, but sometimes he 
would get " a little off," and as this was one of his " oS 
days " he was bound to amuse himself in some original and 
mischievous way. Ret^ching the depot just as the train 




INITIATING A NEW LIEUTENANT. 211 

came in, we easily found the Lieutenant, and giving liim 
the back seat in the anibiUance we M'ere . soon headed for 
camp. 

Pretty soon Major Brown took tlie reins from his driver, 
and at once began whipping the mules. After getting them 
into a lively gallop he pulled out his revolver and tired sev- 
eral shots. The road was terribl}" rough and the night was 
so dark that we could hardly see where we were going. It 
was a wonderful piece of luck that we were not tipped over 
and our necks broken. Finall}' Baclie said, good-humoredly : 

"Is this the way you break in all your Lieutenants, 
Major ^'"^^ -^- 

" Oh, no ; I don't do this as a regular thing, but it's the way 
we frequently ride in this country," said the Major; "just 
keep your seat, Mr. Bache, and we'll take you through on 
time." The Major appropriated the reply of the old Cali- 
fornia stage driver. Hank Monk, to Horace Greely. 

We M'ere now rattling down a steep hill at full speed, and 
just as we reached the bottom, the front wheels struck a 
deep ditch over which the mules had jumped. We were all 
"brought up standing by the sudden stoppage of the ambu- 
lance. Major Brown and myself were nearly pitched out on 
the wheels, while the Lieutenant came flying headlong from 
the back seat to the front of the vehicle. 

" Take a back seat, Lieutenant," coolly said Major Brown. 

" Major, I have just left that seat," said Bache. 

We soon lifted the wagon out of the ditch, and then re- 
sumed our drive, running into camp under full headway, 
and creating considerable amusement. Every one recognized 
the ambulance and knew at once that Major Brown and I 
were out on a "lark," and therefore there was not much said 
about our exploit. Halting with a grand flourish in front of his 
tent, Major Brown jumped out in his most gallant style and 
politely asked his lieutenant in. A very pleasant evening 
was spent there, quite a number of the ofiicers calling to 
make the acquaintance of the new officer, who entertained 



212 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

the visitors with an amusing account of the ride from the 
depot. 

^ext morning at an early hour, the command started out 
on a hunt for Indians, General Carr having a pretty good 
idea where he would be most likely to find them, directed 
me to guide him by the nearest route to Elephant Rock on 
Beaver Creek. 

Upon arriving at the south fork of the Beaver on the sec- 
ond day's march, we discovered a large, fresh Indian trail 
which we hurridly followed for a distance of eight miles, 
when suddenly we saw on the bluffs ahead of us, quite a 
large number of Indians. 

General Carr ordered Lieutenant Pepoon's scouts and Com. 
pany M to the front. This company was commanded by 
Lieutenant Schinosky, a Frenchman by birth and a reckless 
dare-devil by nature, who was anxious to have a hair-lifting 
match. Having advanced his company nearly a mile ahead 
of the main command, about four hundred Indians suddenly 
charged down upon him and gave him a lively little fighty 
until he was supported by our full force. 

The Indians kept increasing in numbers all the while until 
it was estimated that we were fighting from eight hundred 
to one thousand of them. The engagement became quite 
general, and several were killed and wounded on each side. 
The Indians were evidently fighting to give their families 
and village, a chance to get away. We had undoubtedly 
surprised them with a larger force than they had ex- 
pected to see in that part of the country. We fought them 
until dark, all the time driving them before us. At night 
they annoyed us considerably by firing down into our camp 
from the higher hills, and several times the command was 
ordered out to dislodge them from their position and drive 
them back. 

After having returned from one of these little sallies. 
Major Brown, Captain Sweetman , Lieutenant Bache and 
myself were taking supper together, when " whang ! " came 



A CRACK SHOT. 



213 



a bullet into Lieutenant 
Bacbe's plate, breaking a 
hole through it. The bul- 
let came from the gun of 
one of the Indians, who 
had returned to the high 
bluff over-looking our camp. 
Major Brown declared it 
was a crack shot, because 
it broke the plate. We 
finished our supper with- 
out having any more such 
close calls. 

At daylight next morn- 
ing we struck out on the 
trail, and soon came to the 
spot where the Indians had 
camped the day before. 
We could see that their vil- 
lage was a very large one, 
consisting of about five 
hundred lodges ; and we 
pushed forward rapidly 
from this point on the 
trail which ran back toward 
Prairie Dog Creek. 

About two o'clock we 
came in sight of the retreat- 
ing village, and soon the 
warriors turned back to 
give us battle. They set 
fire to the prairie grass in 
front of us, and on all 
sides, in order to delay us 
as much as possible. We 
kept up a running fight 
for the rema-Lidv.A of the 




214 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

afternoon, and the Indians repeatedly attempted to lead 
us off the track of their flying village, but their trail was 
easily followed, as they were continually dropping tepee 
poles, camp kettles, robes, furs and all heavy articles belong- 
ing to them. They were evidently scattering, and it finally 
became diflicult for us to keep on the main trail. AVhen 
darkness set in, we went into camp, it,being useless to try to 
follow the Indians after nightfall, 

Next morning we were again on the trail, which led north, 
and back towards the Beaver Creek, which stream it crossed 
within a few miles of the spot wliere we had first discovered 
the Indians, they having made nearly a complete circle, in 
hopes of misleading us. Late in the afternoon, mo again 
saw them going over a hill far ahead of us, and towards 
evening the main body of warriors came back and fought us 
once more ; but we continued to drive them until darkness 
set in, when we camped for the night. 

The Indians soon scattered in every direction, but we fol- 
lowed the main trail to the Republican river, where we made 
a cut-off, and then went north towards the Platte river. "We 
found, however, that the Indians by traveling night and day 
had got a long start, and tlie General conchided that it was 
useless to follow them any further, as we had pushed them 
so hard, and given them sncli a scare that they would leave 
the Republican country and go north across the Union 
Pacific railroad. Most of the Indians, as he had predicted, 
did cross the Platte river, near Ogallala, on the Union Pacific, 
and thence continued northward. 

That night we returned to the Republican river and 
camped in a grove of cottonwoods, -which 1 named Carr's 
Orove, in honor of the commanding officer. 

The General told me that the next day's march would be 
towards the head-waters of the Reaver, and he asked me the 
distance. I replied that it was about twentv-five miles, and 
lie said we would make it the next day. (retting an early 
start in the morning, we struck ou •;.. ; -^ he prairie, my 



A WATER QUESTION. 215 

position as guide being ahead of the advance guard. About 
two o'clock General Carr overtook me, and asked how far 
I supposed it was to water. I thought it was about eight 
miles, although we could see no sign or indication of any 
stream in our front. 

"Pepoon's scouts say that you are going in the wrong 
direction," said the General, " and in the way you are bear- 
ing it will be fifteen miles before you can strike any of the 
branches of the Beaver; and that when you do, you will 
find no water, for the Beavers are dry at this time of the 
year at that point." 

" General, I think the scouts are mistaken," said I, " for 
the Beaver has more water near its head than it has below ; 
and at the place where we will strike the stream we will find 
immense beaver dams, large enough aud strong enough to 
cross the whole command, if you wish." 

"Well, Cody, go ahead," said he, "I'll leave it to you, 
but remember that I don't want a dry camp." 

" No danger of that," said I, and then I rode on, leaving 
him to return to the command. As I had predicted, we 
found M^ater seven or eight miles further on, where we came 
upon a beautiful little stream — a tributary of the Beaver — 
hidden in the hills. We had no difiiculty in selecting a good 
halting place, and obtaining fresh sj)ring water and excellent 
grass. The General, upon learning from me that the stream 
— which was only eight or nine miles long — had no name, 
took out his map and located it, and named it Cody's Creek, 
which name it still bears. 

We pulled out early next morning for the Beaver, and 
when we were approaching the sti-eam I rode on ahead of 
the advance guard, in order to find a crossing. Just as I 
turned a bend of the creek, " bang ! " went a shot, and down 
went my horse — myself with him. I disentangled myself, 
and jumped behind the dead body. Looking in the direc- 
tion whence the sliot had come, I sa^v two Indians, and at 

once turned my gun loose on them, but in the excitement 
13 



216 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

of the moment I missed my aim. They fired two or three 
more shots, and I returned the compliment, wounding one 
of their horses. 

On the opposite side of the creek, going over the hill, I 
observed a few lodges moving i-apidly awaj^, and also some 
mounted warriors, who could see me, and who kept blazing 
away with their guns. The two Indians who had fired at 
me and had killed my horse were retreating across the creek 
on a beaver dam. I sent a few shots after them to accel- 
erate their speed, and also fired at the ones on the other 
side of the stream. I was undecided as to whether it was 
best to run back to the command on foot or hold my position. 
1 knew that within a few minutes the troops would come 
up, and if they heard the firing they would come rapidly. 

The Indians, seeing that I was alone, turned and charged 
down the hill, and were about to re-cross the creek to corral 
me, when the advance guard of the command put in an 
appearance on the ridge, and dashed forward to my rescue. 
The red-skins whirled and made off. 

When General Carr came np, he ordered Company I 
to go in pursuit of the band. I accompanied Lieutenant 
Brady, who commanded, and we had a running fight with 
the Indians, lasting several hours. "We captured several 
head of their horses and most of their lodges. At night we 
returned to the command, which by this time had crossed 
the creek on the beaver dam. 

We scouted for several days along the river, and had two 
or three lively skirmishes. Finally our supplies began to 
run low, and General Carr gave orders to return to Fort 
Wallace, which we reached three days afterwards, and where 
we remained several days. 

While the regiment was waiting here for order?, I spent 
most of the time in hunting buffaloes, and one day while I 
was out with a small party, we were "jumped" by about 
fifty Indians. We had a severe fight of at least an hour, 
when we succeeded in driving the enemy. They lost four 



A LIVELY FIGHT. 



217 



of their warriors, and probably concluded that we were a 
hard crowd. I had some excellent marksmen with me, and 




they did some fine 
work, sending the 
bullets thick and 
fast where they 
A HARD CKOAVD. would do tho most 

good. Two or three of our horses had been hit, and one 
man had been wounded ; we were ready and willing to stay 
with the red-skins as long as they wished — but they finally 
gave it up however, as a bad job, and rode off. We finished 
our hunt, and went back to the post loaded down with 
plenty of buffalo meat, and received the compliments of the 
General for our little fight. 



CHAPTER XIX. 



A TOUGH TIME. 



f^ ENERAL CARR soon received orders from General 
\X Sheridan that lie was to make a winter's campaign in 
the Canadian river country, and that we were to proceed to 
Fort Lyon, on the Arkansas river, in Colorado, and there tit 
ont for the expedition. Leaving Fort Wallace in November, 
1868, we arrived at Fort Lyon in the latter part of the 
month, and outfitted for the coming expedition. 

General Penrose had left this post three weeks previously 
with a command of some three hundred men. He liad 
taken no wagons with him and his supply train was com- 
posed only of pack mules. General Carr was ordered to 
follow with supplies on his trail and overtake him as soon as 
possible. I was particularly anxious to catch up with Pen- 
rose's command, as my old friend Wild Bill was among his 
scouts. We followed the trail very easily for the first three 
days, and then we were caught in Freeze-Out canyon by a 
fearful snow storm, w^hich compelled us to go into camp 
for a day. The ground now being covered with snow, we 
found that it would be almost impossible to follow Pen- 
rose's trail any further, especially as he had left no 
sign to indicate the direction he was going. General 
Carr sent for me and said that as it was very important 
that we should not lose the trail, he wished that I would 

218 




CAMPING IN THE SNOW. 



OUT IN A SNOW STOliM. 221 

take some scouts with me, and while the command re- 
mained in camp, push on as far as possible and see if I could 
not discover some traces of Penrose or where he had camped 
at any time. 

Accompanied by four men I started out in tlie blinding 
snow storm, taking a southerly direction. We rode twenty- 
four miles, and upon reaching a tributary of the Cimarron, 
we scouted up and down the stream for a few miles and 
finally found one of Penrose's old camps. It was now late 
in the afternoon, and as the command would come up the 
next day, it was not necessary for all of us to return with 
the information to General Carr. So riding down into a 
sheltered place in a bend of the creek, we built a fire and 
broiled some venison from a deer which we had shot during 
the day, and after eating a substantial meal, I left the four 
men there, wdiile I returned to bring np the troops. 

It was eleven o'clock at night when I got back to the 
camj). A light was still burning in the General's tent, he 
having remained awake, anxiously awaiting my return. lie 
was glad to see me, and was overjoyed at the information I 
brought, for he had great fears concerning the safety of Gen- 
eral Penrose. He roused up bis cook and ordered him to 
get me a good hot supper, all of which I greatly appreciated. 
I passed the night in the GeneraFs tent, and next morning 
rose refreshed and prepared for a big day's work. 

The command took up its march next day for the Cimar- 
ron, and had a hard tramp of it on account of the snow hav- 
ing drifted to a great depth in many of the ravines, and in 
some places the teamsters had to shovel their way through. 
We arrived at the Cimarron at sundown, and went into a 
nice warm camp. Upon looking around next morning, we 
found that Penrose, having been unencumbered by wagons, 
had kept on the west side of the Cimarron, and the country 
was so rough that it was impossible for us to stay on his trail 
"with our wagons; but knowing that he would certainly follow 
down the river. General Carr concluded to take the best 



222 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

wagon route along the stream, which I discovered to he on 
the east side. Before we could make any headway with our 
wagon train we had to leave the river and get out on the 
divide. "VVe were very fortunate that day in finding a splen- 
did road for some distance, until we were all at once hrought 
up standing on a high table-land, overlooking a beautiful 
winding creek that lay far below ns in the valley. The 
question that troubled ns, was, how we were to get the M-agons 
down. We were now in the foot-hills of theKattoon Moun- 
tains, and the bluff we wei'e on was very steep. 

" Cody, we're in a nice fix now," said General Carr. 

" Oh, that's nothing," was my reply. 

" But 3'ou can never take the train down," said he. 

"Never you mind the train. General. You say 3'ou are 
looking for a good camp. IIow does that beautiful spot 
down in the valley suit you ? " I asked him. 

" That will do. I can easily descend with the cavalry, 
but how to get the wagons down there is a puzzler to me," 
said he. 

" By the time you've located your camp, your wagons 
shall be there," said I. 

*' All right, Cody, I'll leave it to you, as you seem to 
want to be boss," replied he pleasantly. « lie at once 
ordered the command to dismount and lead the horses down 
the mountain-side. The wagon train was a mile in the rear, 
and when it came up, one of the drivers asked : " TIow are 
we going down there ? " 

" Run down, slide down or fall down — any way to get 
down," said I. 

" We never can do it ; it's too steep ; the wagons will run 
over the mules," said another wagon-master. 

"I guess not; the mules have got to keep out of the 
way," was my reply. 

Telling Wilson, the chief wagon-master, to bring on his 
mess-wagon, which was at the head of the train, I said I 
would try the experiment at least. Wilson drove the team 



A SLIDE DOWN HILL. 223 

and wagon to the brink of the hill, and following my direc- 
tions he bronght out some extra chains with which we 
locked both wheels on each side, and then rough-locked 
them. We then started the wagon down the hill. The 
wheel-horses — or rather the wheel-mules — were good on the 
hold-back, and we got along finely until we nearly reached 
the bottom, when the wagon crowded the mules so hard that 
they started on a run and galloped down into the valley and- 
to the place where General Carr had located his camp. 
Three other wagons immediately fullowed in the same way, 
and in half an hour every wagon was in camp, without the 
least accident having occurred. It was indeed an exciting 
sight to see the six-mule teams come straight down the 
mountain and finally break into a full run. At times it 
looked as if the wagons would turn a somersault and land 
on the mules. 

This proved to be a lucky march for us as far as gaining 
on Penrose was concerned, for the route he had taken on the 
west side of the stream turned out to be a bad one, and we 
went with our immense wagon train as far in one day as 
Penrose had in seven. His command had marched on to a 
plateau or high table-land so steep, that not even a pack 
mule could descend it, and he was obliged to retrace his steps 
a long ways, thus losing three days time as we afterwards 
learned. 

While in this camp we had a lively turkey hunt. The 
trees along the banks of the stream were literally alive with 
wild turkeys, and after unsaddling the horses between two 
and three hundred soldiers surrounded a grove of timber 
and had a grand turkey round-up, killing four or five hun- 
dred of the birds, with guns, clubs and stones. Of 
course, we had turkey in every style after this hunt — roast 
turkey, boiled turkey, fried turkey, "turkey on toast," and 
80 on ; and we "appropriately called this place Camp Turkey. 

From this point on, for several days, we had no trouble in 
following Penrose's trail, which led us in a southeasterly 



224 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

direction towards tlie Canadian Kiver. Xo Indians were 
seen, nor anj signs of tlieni found. One day, while riding 
in advance of tlie command, down San Francisco Creek, I 
heard some one calling my name from a little bunch of wil- 
low brush on the opposite bank, and, upon looking closely 
at the spot, I saw a negro. 

" Sakes alive ! Massa Bill, am dat you ? " asked the man, 
whom I recognized as one of the colored soldiers of the 
Tenth Cavalry. I next heard him say to some one in the 
brush : "Come out o' heah. Dar's Massa Buflalo Bill." 
Then he sang out, " Massa Bill, is you got any hawd tack ? " 

" Nary a hard tack ; but the wagons will be along pres- 
ently, and then you can get all you want," said I. 

" Dat's de best news I'se heerd f oah sixteen long days, 
Massa Bill," said he. 

" Where's your command ? Where's General Penrose? " 
I asked. 

" I dunno," said the darkey ; " we got lost, and we's been 
a starvin' eber since." 

By this time two other negroes had emerged from their 
place of concealment. They had deserted Penrose's com- 
mand — which was out of rations and nearly in a starving 
condition — and were trying to make their way back to Fort 
Lj'on. General Carr concluded, from what they could tell 
him, that General Penrose was somewhere on Polladora 
Creek ; but we could not learn anything definite from the 
'Starved "mokes," for they knew not where they were them- 
selves. 

Having learned that General Penrose's troops were in 
Buch bad shape, General Carr ordered Major Brown to start 
out the next morning with two companies of cavalry and 
fifty pack-mules loaded with provisions, and to make all 
possible speed to i-eaeh and relieve the suft'ering soldiers. 
I accompanied this detachment, and on the third day out 
we found the half-famished soldiers camped on the Polladora. 
The camp presented a pitiful sight, indeed. For over two 



ARRIVAL AT PENROSE'S CAMP. 



22{ 



weeks tlie men had had only quarter rations, and were now 
nearly starved to death. Over two hundred horses and 
mules were lying dead, having died from fatigue and starva- 
tion. General Penrose, having feared that General Carr 
would not find him, had sent back a company of the Seventh 
Cavalry to Fort Lyon for supplies ; but no word as yet had 




A WELCOME VISITOR. 



been heard from tliem. The rations which Major Brown 
brought to the command came none too soon, and were the 
means of saving many a life. 

About the first man I saw after reaching the camp was 
my old, true and tried friend, Wild Bill. That night we 
had a jolly reunion around the camp-fires. 

General Carr, upon arriving with his force, took command 



226 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

of all the troops, he being the senior officer and ranking 
General Penrose. After selecting a good camp, he unloaded 
the wagons and sent them back to Fort Lyon for fresh sup- 
plies. He then picked out five hundred of the best men and 
horses, and, taking his pack-train with him, he started south 
for the Canadian River, distant about forty miles, leaving 
the rest of the troops at the supply camp. 

I was ordered to accompany this expedition. We struck 
the south fork of the Canadian River, or Rio Colorado, at 
a point a few miles above the old adobe walls, which at one 
time had composed a fort, and was the place where Kit Car- 
son once had a big Indian fight. We were now within 
twelve miles of a new supply depot, called Camp Evans, 
which had been established for the Third Cavalry and 
Evans's Expedition from New Mexico. The scouts who 
had brought in this information also reported that they 
expected the arrival at Camp Evans of a bull-train from 
]S[ew Mexico with a large quantity of beer for the soldiers. 
This news was "pie" for Wild Bill and myself, and we 
determined to lie low for that beer outfit. That very even- 
ing it came along, and the beer that was destined for the 
soldiers at Camp Evans never reached its destination. It 
went straight down the thirsty throats of General Carr's 
command. It appears that the Mexicans living near Fort 
Union had manufactured the beer, and were taking it 
through to Camp Evans to sell to the troops, but it struck a 
lively market without going so far. It was sold to our boys 
in pint cups, and as the weather was very cold we warmed the 
beer by putting the ends of our picket-pins heated red-hot 
into the cups. The result was one of the biggest beer jolli- 
fications I ever had the misfortune to attend. 

One evening General Carr summoned me to his tent, and 
said he wished to send some scouts with dispatches to Camp 
Supply, which were to be forwarded from there to Sheridan. 
He ordered me to call the scouts together at once at his 
headquarters, and select the men who were to go. I asked 



TROUBLE AMONG THE SCOUTS. 227 

him if I should not go myself, but he replied that he wished 
me to remain M'itli the command, as he could not spare me. 
The distance to Cimp Supply was about two hundred miles, 
and owing to the very cold weather it was anything but a 
pleasant trip. Consequently none of the scouts were anxious 
to undertake it. It was finally settled, however, that Wild 
Bill, a half-breed called Little Geary, and three other scouts 
should carry the dispatches, and they accordingly took their 
departure next day, with instructions to return to the com- 
mand as soon as possible. 

For several days we scouted along the Canadian River, 
but found no signs of Indians. General Carr then went 
back to his camp, and soon afterwards our \vagon train came 
in from Fort Lyon with a fresh' load of provisions. Our 
animals being in poor condition, we remained in different 
camps along San Francisco Creek and the north fork of the 
Canadian, until Wild Bill and his scouts returned from 
Camp Supply. 

Among the scouts of Penrose's command were fifteen 
Mexicans, and between them and the American scouts there 
had existed a feud ; when General Carr took command of 
the expedition — uniting it with his own — and I was made 
chief of all the scouts^ this feud grew more intense, and the 
Mexicans often threatened to clean us out ; but they post- 
poned the undertaking from time to time, until one day, 
while we were all at the sutler's store, the long-expected 
fight took place, and resulted in the Mexicans getting 
severely beaten. 

General Carr, upon hearing of the row, sent for Wild Bill 
and myself, he having concluded, from the various statements 
which had been made to him, that we were the instiga- 
tors of the affair. But after listening to what we had to 
say, he thought that the Mexicans were as much to blame as 
we were. 

It is not to be denied that Wild Bill and myself had been 
partaking too freely of "tanglefoot" that evening; and 



228 



LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 



General Can* said to me : " Cody, there are plenty of ante- 
lopes in the country, and yon can do some hunting for the 
camp while we stay here." 

" All right, General, I'll do it." 

After that I put in my time hunting, and with splendid 
success, killing from fifteen to twenty antelopes a day, which 
kept the men well supplied with fresh meat. 

At length, our horses and mules having become suf- 
ficiently recruited to travel, we returned to Fort Lyon, 
arriving there in March, 1869, where the command was to 
rest and recruit for thirty days, before proceeding to the 
Department of the Platte, whither it had been ordered. 




CHAPTER XX. 

AN EXCITING CHASE. 

f^ EISTERAL CAKE, at my request, kindly granted me one 
vX month's leave of absence to visit my family in St. Louis, 
and ordered Captain Hays, our quartermaster, to let me ride 
my mule and horse to Sheridan, distant 14?0 miles, where I 
was to take the cars. I was instructed to leave the animals 
in the quartermaster's corral at Fort Wallace until I should 
come back, but instead of doing this I put them both in the 
care of my old friend Perry, the hotel-keeper at Sheridan. 
After a twenty days absence in St.'Louis, pleasantly spent 
with my family, I returned to Sheridan, and there learned 
that my njule and horse had been seized by the government. 

It seems that the quartermaster's agent at Sheridan had 
reported to General Bankhead, commanding Fort Wallace, 
and to Captain Laufer, the quartermaster, that I had left 
the country and had sold a government horse and mule to Mr. 
Perry, and of course Captain Laufer took possession of the 
animals and threatened to have Perry arrested for buying 
government property. Perry explained to him the facts in 
the case and said that I would return in a few days ; but the 
captain would pay no attention to his statements. 

I immediately went over to the office of the quartermaster's 
agent, and had Perry point him out to me. I at once laid 
hold of him, and in a short time had treated him to just 
such a thrashing as his contemptible lie deserved. 

229 



230 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

He then mounted a horse, rode to Fort Wallace, and re- 
ported me to General Bankhead and Captain Laufer, and 
obtained a guard to return with and protect him. 

The next morning I secured a horse from Perry, and pro- 
ceeding to Fort Wallace demanded my horse and mule 
from General Bankhead, on the ground that they were quar- 
termaster Hays' property and belonged to General Carr's 
command, and that I had obtained permission to ride them 
to Sheridan and back. General Bankhead, in a gruff man- 
ner ordered me out of his office and off the reservation, say- 
ing that if I didn't take a hurried departure he would have 
me forcibly put out, I told him to do it and be hanged ; I 
might have used a stronger expression, and upon second 
thought, I believe I did. I next interviewed Captain Laufer 
and demanded of him also the horse and mule, as I was re- 
sponsible for them to Quartermaster Hays. Captain Laufer 
intimated that I was a liar and that I had disposed of the 
animals. Hot words ensued between us, and be too ordered 
me to leave the post. I replied that General Bankhead had 
commanded me to do the same thing, but that I had not yet 
gone ; and tbat I did not propose to obey any orders of an 
inferior officer. 

Seeing that it was of no use to make any further effort ta 
get possession of the animals I rode back to Sheridan, and 
just as I reached there I met the quartermaster's agent com- 
ing out from supper, with his head tied up. It occurred to 
me that he had not received more than one half the punish- 
ment justly due him, and that now would be a good time to 
give him the balance — so I carried the idea into immediate 
execution. After finishing the job in good style, I informed 
him that he could not stay in tliat town while I remained 
there, and convinced him that Sheridan was not large enough 
to hold us both at the same time ; he accordingly left the 
place and again went to Fort Wallace, this time reporting 
to General Bankhead that I had driven him away, and had 
threatened to kill him. 



IN THE GUARD HOUSE. 231 

That night while sleeping at the Perry House, I was 
awakened by a tap on the shoulder and upon looking up I was 
considerably surprised to see the room HUed with armed ne- 
groes who had their guns all pointed at me. The first words 
I heard came from the sergeant, who said : 

" Now look a-heah, Massa Bill, ef you makes a move we'll 
blow you off de farm, shuah ! " Just then Captain Ezekiel 
entered and ordered the soldiers to stand back. 

" Captain, what does this mean ? " I asked. 

" I am sorry, Bill, but I have been ordered by General 
Bankhead to arrest you and bring you to Fort "Wallace," said 
he. 

" That's all right," said I, " but you could have made the 
arrest alone, without having brought the whole Thirty-eighth 
Infantry with you." 

" I know that, Bill," replied the Captain, " but as you've 
not been in very good humor for the last day or two, 1 didn't 
know how you would act." 

I hastily dressed, and accompanied Captain Ezekiel to 
Fort Wallace, arriving there at two o'clock in the morning. 

"Bill, I am really' sorry," said Captain Ezekiel, as we 
alighted, "but I have orders to place you in the guard- 
house, and I must perform my duty." 

" Very well, Captain ; I don't blame you a bit," said I ; 
and into the guard-house I went as a prisoner for the first 
and only time in my life. The sergeant of the— guard who 
was an old friend of mine, belonging to Captain Graham's 
company, which was stationed there at the time — did not put 
me into a cell, but kindly allowed me to stay in his room 
and occupy his bed, and in a few minutes I was snoring 
away as if nothing unusual had occurred. 

Shortly after reveille Captain Graham called to see me. 
He thought it was a shame for me to be in the guard-house, 
and said that he would interview General Bankhead in ray 
behalf as soon as he got up. The Captain had a nice break- 
fast prepared for me, and then departed. At guard-mount 



232 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

I was not sent I'or, contrary to my expectations, and there- 
upon I had word conveyed to Captain Graham, who was 
officer of the day, that I wanted to see General Bankhead. 
The Captain informed me that the General absohitely re- 
fused to hold any conversation whatever with me. 

At this time there was no telegraph line between Fort 
Wallace and Fort Lyon, and therefore it was impossible for 
me to telegraph to General Carr, and I determined to send a 
dispatch direct to General Sheridan. I accordingly wrote out 
a long telegram informing liim of my difficulty, and had it 
taken to the telegraph office for transmission ; but the ope- 
rator, instead of sending it at once as he should have done, 
showed it to General Bankhead, who tore it up, and 
instructed the operator not to pay any attention to what I 
might say, as he was running that post. Thinking it very 
strange that 1 received no answer during the day I went to 
the telegraph office, accompanied by a guard, and learned 
from the operator what he had done. 

" See here, my young friend," said I, " this is a public 
telegraph line, and I want my telegram sent, or there'll be 
trouble." 

1 re-wrote my dispatch and handed it to him, accompanied 
with the money to pay for the transmission, saying, as I did 
so : " Young man, I wish that telegram sent direct to Chi- 
cago. You know it is your duty to send it, and it must go." 

He knew very well that he was compelled to transqiit the 
message, but before doing so he called on General Bank- 
head and informed him of what I had said, and told him 
that he would certainly have to send it, for if he didn't he 
might lose his position. The General, seeing that the tele- 
gram would have to go, summoned me to his headquarters, 
and the first thing he said, after I got into his presence 
was : 

"If I let you go, sir, M'ill you leave the post at once and 
not bother my agent at Sheridan again ? " 

"Ko, sir;" I replied, "I'll do nothing of the kind. I'll 



I RETURN TO FORT LYON. 233 

remain in the guard-house until I receive an answer from 
General Sheridan." 

" If I give you the horse and mule will you proceed at 
once to Fort Lyon ? " 

" No, sir ; I have some bills to settle at Sheridan and some 
other business to transact," replied I. 

" Well, sir ; will you at least agree not to interfere any 
further Avith the quartermaster's agent at Sheridan ? " 

" I shall not bother him any more, sir, as I have had all I 
want from him," was my answer. 

General Bankhead thereupon sent for Captain Lanfer and 
ordered him to turn the horse and mule over to me. In a 
few minutes more I was on my way to Sheridan, and after 
settling my business there, I proceeded to Fort Lyon, arriv- 
ing two days afterwards. I related my adventures to Gen- 
eral Carr, Major Brown, and other officers, who were greatly 
amused thereby. 

" I'm glad you've come, Bill," said General Carr, "as I 
have been wanting you for the last two weeks. While we 
have been at this post several valuable animals, as well as 
a large number of government horses and mules have been 
stolen, and we think that the thieves are still in the vicinity 
of the fort, but as yet we have been unable to discover their 
rendezvous. I have had a party out for the last few days in 
the neighborhood of old Fort Lyon, and they have found 
fresh tracks down there and seem to think that the stock is 
concealed somewliere in the timber, along the Arkansas 
river. Bill Green, one of the scouts who has just come up 
from there, can perhaps tell you something more about 
the matter." 

Green, who had been summoned, said that he had dis- 
covered fresh trails before striking the heavy timber oppo- 
site old Fort Lyon, but that in the tall grass he could not 
follow them. He had marked the place where he had last 
seen fresh mule tracks, so that he could find it again. 

" Now, Cody, you're just the person we want," said the 
General. 
14 



234 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

" Yery well, I'll get a fresh mount, and to-morrow I'll go 
down and see what I can discover," said I. 

" You had better take two men besides Green, and a pack 
mule with eight or ten days' rations," suggested the General, 
"so that if you find the trail you can follow it up, as I am 
very anxious to get back this stolen property. The scoun- 
drels have taken one of my private horses and also Lieu- 
tenant Forbush's favorite little black race mule." 

Next morning I started out after the horse-thieves, being 
accompanied by Green, Jack Farley, and another scout. 
The mule track, marked by Green, was easily found, and 
with very little difficulty I followed it for about two miles 
into the timber and came upon a place where, as I could 
plainly see from numerous signs, quite a number of head 
of stock had been tied among the trees and kept for several 
days. This was evidently the spot where the thieves had been 
hiding their stolen stock until they had accumulated quite 
a herd. From this point it was difficult to trail them, as 
they had taken the stolen animals out of the timber one 
by one and in different directions, thus showing that they 
were experts at the business and experienced frontiersmen, 
for no Indian could have exhibited more cunning in cover- 
ing up a trail than did they. 

I abandoned the idea of following their trail in this imme- 
diate locality, so calling my men together, I told them that 
we would ride out for about five miles and make a complete 
circuit about the place, and in this way we would certainly 
find the trail on which they had moved out. While making 
the circuit we discovered the tracks of twelve animals — four 
mules and eight horses — in the edge of some sand-hills, and 
from this point we had no trouble in trailing them down the 
Arkansas river, which they liad crossed at Sand Creek, and 
then had gone up the latter stream, in the direction of Den- 
ver, to which place they were undoubtedly bound. When 
nearing Denver their trail became so obscure that we at last 
lost it ; but by inquiring of the settlers along the road which 
they had taken, we occasionally heard of them. 



CAPTURE OF THE HORSE THIEVES. 235 

When within four miles of Denver — this was on a Thurs- 
day — we learned that the hoi-se-thieves had passed there two 
days before. I came to the conclusion they would attempt 
to dispose of the animals in Denver, and being aware that 
Saturday was the great auction day there, I thought it best 
to remain where we were at a hotel, and not go into the city 
until thPvt day. It certainly w^ould not have been advisable 
for me to have gone into Denver meantime — because I was 
well-known there, and if the thieves had learned of my 
presence in the city they would at once have suspected mj 
business. 

Early Saturday morning, we rode into town and stabled 
our horses at the Elephant Corral. I secured a room from 
Ed. Chase, overlooking the corral, and then took up my post 
of observation. I did not have long to wait, for a man, 
whom I readily recognized as one of our old packers, rode 
into the corral mounted upon Lieutenant Forbush's racing 
mule, and leading ariother government mule, which I also 
identified. It had been recently branded, and over the 
" TJ. S." was a plain " D. B." I waited for the man's com- 
panion to put in an appearance, but he did not come, and 
my conclusion was that he was secreted outside of the city 
with the rest of the animals. 

Presently the black mule belonging to Forbush was put 
up at auction. Now, thought I, is the time to do my work. 
So, walking through the crowd, who were bidding for 
the mule, I approached the man who had offered him for 
sale. He recognized me and endeavored to escape, but I 
seized him by the shoulder, saying : " I guess, my friend, 
that you'll have to go with me. If you make any resist- 
ance, I'll shoot yon on the spot." He was armed with a 
pair of pistols, which I took away from him. Then inform- 
ing the auctioneer that I was a United States detective, and 
showing him — as well as an inquisitive officer — my commis- 
sion as such, I told him to stop the sale, as the mule was 
stolen property, and that I had arrested the thief, whose 
■?ame was Williams. 



236 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

Farley and Green, who were near at hand, now came for- 
ward, and together we took the prisoner and the mules 
three miles down the Platte River ; there, in a thick 
bunch of timber, we all dismounted and made preparations 
to hang Williams from a limb, if he did not tell us where 
his partner was. At first he denied knowing anything about 
any partner, or any other stock ; but when he saw that we 
were in earnest, and would hang him at the end of the given 
time — five minutes — unless he " squealed," he told ns that 
his " pal " was at an unoccupied house three miles further 
down the river. 

We immediately proceeded to the spot indicated, and as 
we came within sight of the house we saw our stock grazing 
near by. Just as we rode up to the door, another one of onr 
old packers, whom I recognized as Bill Bevins, stepped to 
the front, and I covered him instantly with my rifle before 
he could draw his revolver. I ordered him to throw up his 
hands, and he obeyed the command. Green then disarmed 
him and brought him out. We looked through the house and 
foimd their saddles, pack-saddles, blankets, overcoats, lariats 
and two Henry rifles, which we took possession of. The 
horses and mules we tied in a bunch, and with the whole out- 
fit we returned to Denver, where we lodged Williams and 
Bevins in jail, in charge of my friend. Sheriff Edward Cook. 
The next day we took them out, and, tying each one on a 
mule, we struck out on our return trip to Fort Lyon. 

At the hotel outside the city, where we had stopped on 
Thursday and Friday, we were joined by our man with the 
pack-mule. That night we camped on Cherry Creek, seven- 
teen miles from Denver. The weather — it being in April — 
was cold and stormy, but we found a warm and cosy camp- 
ing place in a bend of the creek. We made our beds in a 
row, with our feet towards the fire. The prisoners so far 
had appeared very docile, and had made no attempt to 
escape, and therefore I did not think it necessary to hobble 
them. We made them sleep on the inside, and it was so 



ESCAPE OF BEVINS. 237 

arranged that some one of ns sliould be on guard all the time. 

At about one o'clock in the night it began snowing, while 
I was watching. Shortly before three o'clock, Jack Far- 
ley, who was then on guard, and sitting on the foot of the 
bed, with his back to the prisoners, was kicked clear into 
the fire by Williams, and the next moment Bevins, who had 
got liold of his shoes — which I had thought were out of his 
reach — sprang up and jumped over the fire, and started on a 
run. I sent a shot after him as soon as I awoke sufficiently 
to comprehend what was taking place. Williams attempted 
to follow him, and as he did so, 1 whirled around and 
knocked him down with my revolver. Farley by this time 
had gathered himself out of the fire, and Green had started 
after Bevins, firing at him on the run ; but the prisoner 
made his escape into the brush. In his flight, unfortunately 
for him, and luckily for us, lie dropped one of his shoes. 

Leaving Williams in the charge of Farley and " Long 
Doc," as we called the man with the pack-mule. Green and 
myself struck out after Bevins as fast as possible. We 
heard him breaking through the brush, but knowing that it 
would be useless to follow him on foot, we went back to the 
camp and saddled up two of the fastest horses, and at day- 
light we struck out on his trail, which was plainly visible in 
the snow\ He had got an hour and a half the start of us. 
His tracks led us in the direction of the mountains and the 
South Platte River, and as the country through which he 
was passing was covered with prickly pears, we knew that 
he could not escape stepping on them with his one bare 
foot, and hence we were likely to overtake him in a short 
time. We could see, how^ever, from the long jumps that lie 
was taking, that he was making excellent time, but we fre- 
quently noticed, after we had gone some distance, that the 
prickly pears and stones along his route were cutting his 
bare foot, as nearly every track of it was spotted with blood. 

We had run our horses some twelve miles when we saw 
Bevins crossing a ridge about two miles ahead. Urging 



238 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

our horses up to tlieir utmost speed, we reached the ridge 
just as he was descending the divide towards the South 
Platte, which stream was very deep and swift at this point. 
It became evident that if he should cross it ahead of us, he 
would have a good chance of making his escape. So push- 
ing our steeds as fast as possible, we rapidly gained on him, 
and when within a hundred yards of liim I cried to him to 
halt or I would shoot. Knowing I was a good shot, he stop- 
ped, and, coolly sitting down, waited till we came up. 

" Bevins, you've given us a good run," said I. 

" Yes," said*he, " and if I had had fifteen minutes more of 
a start and got across the Platte, I would have laughed at 
the idea of your ever catching me." 

Bevin's run was the most remarkable feat of the kind ever 
known, either of a white man, or an Indian. A man who 
could run bare-footed in the snow eighteen miles through a 
prickly pear patch, was certainly a " tough one," and that's 
the kind of a person Bill Bevins was. Upon looking at his 
bleeding foot I really felt sorry for him. He asked me for 
my knife, and I gave him my sharp-pointed bowie, with 
which he dug the prickly pear briars out of his foot. I con- 
sidered him as " game " a man as I had ever met. 

" Bevins, I have got to take you back," said I, " but as you 
can't walk with that foot, you can ride my horse and I'll 
foot it." 

"VVe accordingly started back for our camp, with Bevins 
on my horse, which was led either by Green or myself, as 
we alternately rode the other horse. We kept a close 
watch on Bevins, for we had ample proof that he needed 
watching. His wounded foot must have pained him terribly 
but not a word of complaint escaped him. On arriving 
at the camp we found Williams bound as we had left him 
and he seemed sorry that we had captured Bevins. 

After breakfasting we resumed our journey, and nothing 
worth of note again occurred until we reached the Arkansas 
river, where we found a vacant cabin and at once took pos- 




THE RECAPTURE OF BEVINS. 



ESCAPE OF WILLUMS. 241 

session of it for the night. There was no likelihood of 
Bevins again trying to escape, for his foot had swollen to an 
enormous size, and was useless. Believing that Williams 
could not escape from the cabin, we unbound him. We then 
went to sleep, leaving Long Doc on guard, the cabin being 
comfortably warmed and well lighted by the fire. It was a 
dark, stormy night — so dark 1;hat you could hardly see your 
hand before you. At about ten o'clock, Williams asked Long 
Doc to allow him. to step to the door for a moment. 

Long Doc, who had his revolver in his hand, did not think 
it necessary to wake us up, and believing that he could take 
care of the prisoner, he granted his request. Williams there- 
upon walked to the outer edge of the door, while Long Doc, 
revolver in hand, was watching him from the inside. Sud- 
denly Williams made a spring to the right, and before Doc 
could even raise his revolver, he had dodged around the 
house. Doc jumped after him, and fired just as he turned 
a corner, the report bringing us all to our feet, and in an in- 
stant we knew what had happened. 1 at once covered Bev- 
ins with my revolver, but as I saw that he could hardly stir, 
and was making no demonstration, I lowered the weapon. 
Just then Doc came in swearing "a blue streak," and an- 
nounced that AVilliams had escaped. There was nothing for 
ns to do except to gather our horses close to the cabin and 
stand guard over tliem for the rest of the night, to prevent 
the possibility of Williams sneaking up and stealing one of 
them. That was the last I ever saw or heard of Williams. 

We finally got back to Fort Lyon with Bevins, and Gen- 
eral Carr, to whom I immediately reported, complimented 
us highly on the success of our trip, notwithstanding we had 
lost one prisoner. The next day we took Bevins to Boggs' ranch 
on Picket Wire Creek, and there turned him over to the 
civil authorities, who put him in a log jail to await his trial. 
He never was tried, however, for he soon made his escape, as 
I expected he would do. I heard no more of him until 1872, 
when I learned that he was skirmishing around on Laramie 



■li 



242 



LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 



IPlains at his old tricks. He sent word by the gentleman 
jfrom whom I gained this information, that if he ever met 
me again he would kill me on sight. He finally was arrested 
and convicted for robbery, and was confined in the prison at 
Laramie City. Again he made his escape, and soon after- 
wards he organized a desperate gang of outlaws who infested 
the country north of the Union Pacific railroad, and when 




RUliUlNG A STAGE COACH. 



began t o run 
between Chey 
enn e and' 
Deadwood, in 
the Black 
Hills, they rob- 
bed the coaches and passengers, frequently making large hauls 
of plunder. They kept this up for some time, till finally 
most of the gang were caught, tried, convicted, and sent ta 
the penitentiary for a number of years. Bill Bevins and 
nearly all of his gang are now confined in the Nebraska state 
prison, to which they were transferred, from Wj'oming. 



CHAPTEK XXI. 



A MILITARY EXPEDITION. 



A DAY or two after my return to Fort Lyon, the Fifth 
Cavalry were ordered to the Department of the Platte, 
and took up their line of march for Fort McPherson, Neb- 
raska. We laid over one day at Fort Wallace, to get sup- 
plies, and while there I had occasion to pass General Bank- 
head's headquarters. His orderly called to me, and said the 
General wished to see me. As I entered the General's office 
he extended his hand and said : " I hope you have no hard 
feelings toward me, Cody, for having you arrested when you 
were here. I have just had a talk with General Carr and 
Quartermaster Hays, and they informed me that you had 
their permission to ride the horse and mule, and if you had 
stated thi« fact to me there would have been no trouble 
about the matter whatever." 

"That is all right, General," said I; "I will think no 
more of it. But I don't believe that your quartermaster's 
agent will ever again circulate false stories about me." 

"No," said the General ; "he has not yet recovered from 
the beating that you gave him." 

From Fort Wallace we moved down to Sheridan, where 
the command halted for us to lay in a supply of forage 
which was stored there. I was still messing with Major 
Brown, with whom I went into the village to purchase a 

243 



244 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

supply of provisions for our mess ; but unfortunately we 
were in too jolly a mood to fool away money on " grub." 
We bought several articles, however, and put them into the 
ambulance and sent them back to the camp with our cook. 
The Major and myself did not return until reveille next 
morning. Soon afterwards the General sounded " boots and 
saddles," and presently the regiment was on its way to 
McPherson. 

It was very late before we went into camp that night, and 
"we were tired and hungry. Just as Major Brown was hav- 
ing his tent put up, his cook came to us and asked where 
the provisions were that we had bought the day before. 

" Why, did we not give them to you — did you not bring 
them to camp in the ambulance?" asked Major Brown. 

" ISTo, sir ; it was only a five-gallon demijohn of whiskey, 
a five-gallon demijohn of brandy, and two cases of Old Tom- 
Cat gin," said the cook. 

"The mischief!" I exclaimed; "didn't we spend any 
money on grub at all ? " 

" No, sir," replied the cook. 

"Well, that will do for the present," said Major Brown. 

It seems that our minds had evidently been running on a 
different subject than provisions while we were loitering in 
Sheridan, and we found ourselves, with a two hundred and 
fifty mile march ahead of us, without anything more inviting 
than ordinary army rations. 

At this juncture Captain Denny came up, and the Major 
apologized for not being able tq invite him to take supper 
with us ; but we did the next best thing, and asked him to 
take a drink. He remarked that that was what he was look- 
ing for, and when he learned of our being out of commissary 
supplies, and that we had bought nothing except whiskey, 
brandy and gin, he said, joyously : 

" Boys, as we have an abundance, you can eat with us, and 
we will drink with you." 

It was a satisfactory arrangement, and from that time for- 



A PROFITABLE INVESTMENT. 245 

ward "we traded our liquids for their solids. Wlien the rest 
of the officers heard of what Brown and I had done, they 
a\\ sent us invitations to dine with them at any time. We 
returned the compliment by inviting them to drink with us 
whenever they were dry. Although I would not advise 
anybody to follow our example, yet it is a fact that we got 
more provisions for our whiskey than the same money, which 
we paid for the liquor, would have bought; so after all 
it proved a very profitable investment. 

On reaching the north fork of the Beaver and riding down 
the valley towards the stream, 1 suddenly discovered a large 
fresh Indian trail. On examination I found it to be scat- 
tered all over the valley on both sides of the creek, as if a 
very large village had recently passed down that way. 
Judging from the size of the trail, I thought there could not 
be less than four hundred lodges, or between twenty-five 
hundred and three thousand warriors, women and children 
in the band. I galloped back to the command, distant about 
three miles, and reported the news to General Carr, who 
halted the regiment, and, after consulting a few minutes, 
ordered me to select a ravine, or as low ground as possible, 
so that he could keep the troops out of sight until we could 
strike the creek. 

We went into camp on the Beaver, and the General 
ordered Lieutenant Ward to take twelve men and myself 
and follow up the trail for several miles, and find out how 
fast the Indians were traveling. I was soon convinced, by 
the many camps they had made, that they M'ere traveling 
slowly, and hunting as they journeyed. We went down the 
Beaver on this scout about twelve miles, keeping our horses 
well concealed under the banks of the creek, so as not to 
be discovered. 

At this point. Lieutenant Ward and myself, leaving our 
horses behind us, crawled to the top of a high knoll, where 
we could have a good view for some miles distant down the 
stream. We peeped over the summit of the hill, and not 



246 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

over three miles away we conld see a whole Indian village 
in plain sight, and thousands of ponies grazing around on 
the prairie. Looking over to our left on the opposite side 
of the creek, we observed two or three parties of Indians 
coming in, loaded down with butf'alo meat. 

" This is no place for us, Lieutenant," said I ; '' I think 
we have important business at the camp to attend to as soon 
as possible." 

" I agree with you," said he, " and the quicker w^e get there 
the better it will be for us." 

"We quickly descended the hill and joined the men below. 
Lieutenant ^V^ard hurriedly wrote a note to General Carr, 
and handing it to a corporal, ordered him to make all pos- 
sible haste back to the command and deliver the message. 
The man started off on a gallop, and Lieutenant Ward said : 
"We M'ill march slowly back until we meet the troops, as I 
think the General will soon be here, for he will start imme- 
diately upon receiving my note." 

In a few minutes we heard two or three shots in the direc- 
tion in which our dispatch courier had gone, and soon after 
we saw him come flying around the bend of the creek, pur- 
sued by four or five Indians. The Lieutenant, with his 
squad of soldiers and myself, at once charged upon them, 
when they turned and ran across the stream. 

"This will not do," said Lieutenant Ward, "the whole 
Indian village will now know that soldiers are near by. 

" Lieutenant, give me that note, and I M'ill take it to the 
General," said I. 

He gladly handed me the dispatch, and spurring my horse 
I dashed up the creek. After having ridden a short dis- 
tance, I observed another party of Indians also going to the 
village with meat ; but instead of \vaiting for them to lire 
upon me, I gave them a shot at long range. Seeing one 
man firing at them so boldly, it surprised them, and they 
did not know what to make of it. While they were thus 
considering, I got between them and our camp. By this 



A SHARP FIGHT WITH INDIANS. 247 

time they had recovered from their surprise, and, cutting 
their buffalo meat loose from their horses, they came after me 
at the top of their speed ; but as their steeds -were tired out 
it did not take me long to leave them far in the rear. 

I reached the command in less than an hour, delivered the 
dispatch to General Carr, and informed him of what I had 
seen. He instantly had the bugler sound " boots and 
saddles," and all the troops — with the exception of two 
companies, which we left to guard the train — were soon gal- 
loping in the direction of the Indian camp. 

We had ridden about three miles when we met Lieu- 
tenant Ward, who was coming slowly towards us. He re- 
ported that he had run into a party of Indian buffalo-hunt- 
ers, and had killed one of the number, and had had one of 
his horses wounded. We immediately pushed forward 
and after marching about five miles came within sight of 
hundreds of mounted Indians advancing up the creek to 
meet us. They formed a complete line in front of us. 
General Carr, being desirous of striking their village, ordered 
the troops to charge, break through their line, and keep 
straight on. This movement would, no doubt, have been 
successfully accomplished had it not been for the rattle- 
brained and dare-devil French Lieutenant Schinosky, com- 
manding Company B, who, misunderstanding General Carr's 
orders, charged upon some Indians at the left, while the rest 
of the command dashed through the enemy's line, and was 
keeping straight on, when it was observed that Schinosky 
and his company were surrounded by four or five hundred 
red-skins. The General, to save the company, was obliged 
to sound a halt and charge back to the rescue. The com- 
pany, during this short fight, had several men and quite a 
number of horses killed. 

All this took up valuable time, and night was coming on. 
The Indians were fighting desperately to keep us from reach- 
ing their village, which being informed by couriers of what 
was taking place, was packing up and getting away. During 



248 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

that afternoon it was all we could do to hold our own in 
fighting the mounted warriors, who were in our front and 
contesting every inch of the ground. The General had left 
word for our wagon train to follow up with its escort of two 
companies, but as it had not made its appearance he enter- 
tained some fears that it had been surrounded, and to prevent 
the- possible loss of the supply train we had to go back and 
look for it. About 9 o'clock that evening we found it, and 
went into camp for the night. 

Next morning we passed down the creek and there was 
not an Indian to be seen. They had all disappeared and 
gone on with their village. Two miles further on we came 
to where a village had been located, and here we found 
nearly everything belonging or pertaining to an Indian 
camp, which had been left in the great hurry to get away. 
These articles were all gathered up and burned. We then 
pushed out on the trail as fast as possible. It led us to the 
northeast towards the Republican ; but as the Indians had a 
night the start of us we entertained but little hope of over- 
taking them that day. Upon reaching the Republican in the 
afternoon the General called a halt, and as the trail was run- 
ning more to the east, he concluded to send his wagon train 
on to Fort McPherson by the most direct route, while he 
would follow on the trail of the red-skins. 

Next morning at daylight we again pulled out and were 
evidently gaining rapidly on the Indians for we could occa- 
sionally see them in the distance. About 11 o'clock that 
day while Major Babcock was ahead of the main command 
with his company, and while we were crossing a deep ravine^ 
we were surprised by about three hundred warriors who com- 
menced a lively fire upon us. Galloping out of the ravine on 
to the rough prairie the men dismounted and returned the 
fire. "We soon succeeded in driving the enemy before us, 
and were so close upon them at one time, that they aban- 
doned and threw away nearly all their lodges and camp 
equipages, and everything that had any considerable weight. 



THE PAWNEE SCOUTS. 249 

They left behind them their played-out horses, and for miles 
we could see Indian furniture strewn along in every direction. 
The trail became divided, and the Indians scattered in small 
bodies, all over the prairie. As night was approaching and 
our horses were about giving out, a halt was called. A com- 
pany was detailed to collect all the Indian horses running 
loose over the country, and to burn the other Indian property. 

The command being nearly out of rations I was sent to 
the nearest point, Old Fort Kearney, about sixty miles dis- 
tant for supplies. 

Shortly after we reached Fort McPhreson, which con- 
tinued to be the headquarters of the Fifth Cavalry for some 
time. We remained there for ten days, fitting out for a new 
expedition to the Republican river country, and were rein- 
forced by three companies of the celebrated Pawnee Indian 
scouts, commanded by Major Frank ^N'orth ; his officers being 
Captain Lute North, brother of the Major, Captain Cushing, 
his brother-in-law, Captain Morse, and Lieutenants Beecher, 
Matthews and Kislandberry. General Carr recommended 
at tliis time to General Augur, who was in command of the 
Department, that I be made chief of scouts in the Depart- 
ment of the Platte, and informed me that in this position I 
would receive higher wages than I had been getting in the 
Department of the Missouri. This appointment I had not 
asked for. 

I made the acquaintance of Major Frank North,* and I 
found him, and his officers, perfect gentlemen, and we were 
all good friends from the very start. The Pawnee scouts 
had made quite a reputation for themselves as they had per- 
formed brave and valuable services, in fighting against the 
Sioux, whose bitter enemies they were ; being thoroughly 
acquainted with the Republican and Beaver country, I was 
glad that they were to be with the expedition, and they did 
good service. 



• Major North is now my partner in a cattle ranch in Nebraska. 



250 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

During our stay at Fort McPherson I made the acquaint- 
ance of Lieutenant George P. Belden, known as the " White 
Chief," whose life was written by Colonel Brisbin, U. S. 
army. I found him to be an intelligent, dashing fellow, a 
splendid rider and an excellent shot. An hour after our 
introduction he challenged me for a rifle match, the prelimi- 
naries of which were soon arranged. We were to shoot ten 
shots each for fifty dollars, at two hundred yards, off hand. 
Belden was to use a Henry rifle, while I was to shoot my old 
*' Lucretia." This match I won and then Belden proposed 
to shoot a one hundred yard match, as I was shooting over 
his distance. In this match Belden was victorious. We 
were now even, and we stopped right there. 

While we were at this post General Augur and several of 
his oflicers, and also Thomas Duncan, Brevet Brigadier and 
Lieutenant Colonel of the Fifth Cavalry, paid us a visit for 
the purpose of reviewing the command. The I'egiment 
turned out in fine style and showed themselves to be well 
drilled soldiers, thoroughly understanding military tactics. 
The Pawnee scouts were also reviewed and it was very 
amusing to see them in their full regulation uniform. They 
had been furnished a regular cavalry uniform and on this 
parade some of them had their heavy overcoats on, others 
their large black hats, with all the brass accoutrements 
attached ; some of them were minus pantaloons and only 
wore a breech clout. Others wore regulation pantaloons but 
no shirts on and were bareheaded; others again had the 
seat of the pantaloons cut out,. leaving only leggins ; some 
of them wore brass spurs, but had no boots or moccasins on. 
They seemed to understand the drill remarkably well for 
Indians. The commands, of course, were given to them in 
their own language by Major ISTorth, who could talk it as 
well as any full-blooded Pawnee. The Indians were well 
mounted and felt proud and elated because they had been 
made United States soldiers. Major North, has had for 
years complete power over these Indians and can do more 



PAWNEES VERSUS SIOUX. 251 

■with them than any man living. That evening after the 
parade was over the officers and qnite a number of ladies 
visited a grand Indian dance given by the Pawnees, and of 
all tlie Indians I have seen, their dances excel those of any 
other tribe. 

Next day the command started ; when encamped, several 
days after, on the Kepublican river near the mouth of the 
Beaver, we heard the whoops of Indians, followed by shots 
in the vicinity of the mule herd, which had been taken down 
to water. One of the herders came dashing into camp with 
an arrow sticking into him. My horse was close at hand, 
and, mounting him bare-back, I at once dashed off after the 
mule herd, which had been stampeded. I supposed certainly 
that I would be the first man on the ground. I was mis- 
taken, however, for the Pawnee Indians, unlike regular sol- 
diers, had not waited to receive orders from their officers, but 
had jumped on their ponies without bridles or saddles, and 
placing ropes in their mouths, had dashed off in the direction 
whence the shots had come, and had got there ahead of 
me. It proved to be a party of about fifty Sioux, who had 
endeavored to stampede our mules, and it took them by sur- 
prise to see their inveterate enemies — the Pawnees — coming 
at full gallop towards them. They were not aware that the 
Pawnees were with the command, and as they knew that it 
would take regular soldiers sometime to turn out, they 
thought they would have ample opportunity to secure the 
herd before the troops could give chase. 

"We had a running fight of fifteen miles, and several of the 
enemy w^ere killed. During this chase I was mounted on an 
excellent horse, which Colonel Royal had picked out for 
me, and for the first mile or two I was in advance of the 
Pawnees. Presently a Paw^nee shot by me like an arrow 
and I could not help admiring the horse that he was riding. 
Seeing that he possessed rare running qualities, I determined 
if possible to get possession of the animal in some way. It 
was a large buckskin or yellow h9rse, and I took a careful 
15 



252 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

view of him so that I would know him when I returned ta 
camp. 

After the chase was over I rode up to Major North and 
inquired about the buckskin horse. 

" Oh yes," said the Major, " that is one of our favorite 
steeds." 

" What chance is there to trade for him ? " I asked. 

" It is a government horse," said he, " and the Indian whO' 
is riding him is very much attached to the animal." 

" I have fallen in love with the horse myself," said I, " and 
I would like to know if you have any objections to my trad- 
ing for him if I can arrange it satisfactorily with the In- 
dian?" 

He said : " None whatever, and I will help you to do it j 
you can give the Indian another horse in his place." 

A few days after this, I persuaded the Indian, by making 
him several presents, to trade horses with me, and in this way 
I became the owner of the buckskin steed, not as my own 
property, however, but as a government horse that I could 
ride. I gave him the name of " Buckskin Joe " and he proved 
to be a second Brigham. That horse I rode on and off 
during the summers of 1869, 1870, 18Y1 and 1872, and he 
was the horse that the Grand Duke Alexis rode on his buffalo 
hunt. In tlie winter of 1872, after I had left Fort McPher- 
son. Buckskin Joe was condemned and sold at public sale, 
and was bought by Dave Perry, at North Platte, who in 
1877 presented him to me, and I still own him. He is now 
at my ranch on the Dismal river, stone blind, but I shall 
keep him until he dies. 

The command scouted several days up the Beaver and 
Prairie Dog rivers, occasionally having running fights with 
way parties of Indians, but did not succeed in getting them 
into a general battle. At the end of twenty days we found 
ourselves back on the Pepublican. 

Hitherto the Pawnees had not taken much interest in me, 
but while at this camp I gained their respect and admiration 



BUCKSKIN JOE. 253 

by showing them how I killed buffaloes. Although the 
Pawnees were excellent buffalo killers, for Indians, I have 
never seen one of them who could kill more than four or 
five in one run. A number of them generally surround the 
herd and then dash in uj)on them, and in this way each one 
kills from one to four buffaloes. I had gone out in company 
with Major North and some of the officers, and saw them 
make a '' surround.'" Twenty of the Pawnees circled a herd 
and succeeded in killing only thirty-two. 

"While they were cutting up the animals another herd ap- 
peared in sight. The Indians were preparing to surround 
it, when I asked Major North to keep them back and let 
me show them what I could do. He accordingly informed 
the Indians of my wish and they readily consented to let me 
have the opportunity. I had learned that Buckskin Joe was 
an excellent buffalo horse, and felt confident that 1 would 
astonish the natives ; galloping in among the buffaloes, 
I certainly did so by killing thirty-six in less than a half-mile 
run. At nearly every shot I killed a buffalo, stringing the 
dead animals out on the prairie, not over fifty feet apart. 
This manner of killing was greatly admired by the Indians 
who called me a big chief, and from that time on, I stood 
high in their estimation. 



CHAPTER XXII. 



A DESPERATE FIGHT. 



ON leaving camp, the command took a westward course up 
the Republican, and Major North with two companies of 
his Pawnees and two or three companies of cavalry, under 
the command of Colonel Royal, made a scout to the north 
of the river. Shortly after we had gone into camp, on the 
Black Tail Deer Fork, we observed a band of Indians com- 
ing over the prairie at full gallop, singing and yelling and 
waving their lances and long poles. At first we supposed 
them to be Sioux, and all was excitement for a few moments. 
We noticed, however, that our Pawnee Indians made no 
hostile demonstrations or preparations towards going out to 
fight them, but began swinging and yelling themselves. 
Captain Lute North stepped up to General Carr and said : 

" General, those are our men who are coming, and they 
have had a fight. That is the way they act when they come 
back from a battle and have taken any scalps," 

The Pawnees came into camp on the run. Captain North 
calling to one of them — a sergeant — soon found out that they 
had run across a party of Sioax who were following a large 
Indian trail. These Indians had evidently been in a fight, 
for two or three of them had been wounded and they were 
conveying the injured persons on travois. The Pawnees 
had "jumped" them and had killed three or four more of 

them. 

254 



PREPARING FOR A CHARGE. 255 

Next morning the command, at an early hour, started out 
to take np this Indian trail which they followed for two days 
as rapidly as possible ; it becoming evident from the many camp 
fires which we passed, that we were gaining on the Indians. 
Wherever they had encamped we found the jDrint of a 
woman's shoe, and we concluded that they had with them 
some white captive. This made us all the more anxious to 
overtake them, and General Carr accordingly selected all his 
best horses, which could stand a hard run, and gave orders 
for the wagon train to follow as fast as possible, while he 
pushed ahead on a forced march. At the same time I was 
ordered to pick out five or six of the best Pawnees, and go 
on in advance of the command, keeping ten or twelve miles 
ahead on the trail, so that when we overtook the Indians we 
could find out the location of their camp, and send word to 
the troops before they came in sight, thus affording ample 
time to arrange a plan for the capture of the village. 

After having gone about ten miles in advance of the regi- 
ment, we began to move very cautiously, as we were now 
evidently nearing the Indians. We looked carefully over 
the summits of the hills before exposing ourselves to plain 
view, and at last we discovered the village, encamped in the 
sand-hills south of the South Platte river at Summit Springs. 
Here I left the Pawnee scouts to keep watch, while I went 
back and informed General Carr that the Indians were in 
sight. 

The General at once ordered his men to tighten their 
saddles and otherwise prepare for action. Soon ail was ex- 
citement among the officers and soldiers, every one being 
anxious to charge the village. I now changed my horse for 
old Buckskin Joe, who had been led for me thus far, and 
V7SLS, comparatively fresh. Acting on my suggestion, the 
General made a circuit to the north, believing that if the 
Indians had their scouts out, they would naturally be watch- 
ing in the direction whence they had come. When we had 
passed the Indians and were between them and the Platte 



256 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

river, we turned to the left and started toward the village. 

By this manoeuver we had avoided discovery by the Sioux 
scouts, and we were confident of giving them a complete 
surprise. Keeping the command wholly out of sight, until 
we were within a mile of the Indians, the General halted the 
advance guard until all closed up, and then issued an order, 
that, when he sounded the charge, the whole command was 
to rush into the village. 

As we halted on the top of the hill overlooking the camp 
of the unsuspecting Indians, General Carr called out to his 
bugler : " Sound the charge ! " The bugler for a moment 
became intensely excited, and actually forgot the notes. The 
General again sang out : " Sound the charge ! " and yet the 
bugler was unable to obey the command. Quartermaster 
Hays — who had obtained permission to accompany the ex- 
pedition — was riding near the General, and comprehending 
the dilemma of the man, rushed up to him, jerked the 
bugle from his hands and sounded the charge himself in 
clear and distinct notes. As the troops rushed forward, he 
threw the bugle away, then drawing his pistols, was among 
the first men that entered the village. 

The Indians had just driven up their horses and were pre- 
paring to make a move of the camp, when they saw the sol- 
diers coming down upon them. A great many of them 
succeeded in jumping upon their ponies, atid, leaving every 
thing behind them, advanced out of the village and prepared 
to meet the charge ; but upon second thought they quickly 
concluded that it was useless to try to check us, and, those 
who were mounted rapidly rode away, while the others on 
foot fled for safety to the neighboring hills. We went 
through their village shooting right and left at everything 
we saw. The Pawnees, the regular soldiers and the officers 
were all mixed up together, and the Sioux were flying in 
ever}^ direction. 

General Carr had instructed the command that when they 
entered the village, they must keep a sharp look out 




W ii 



4111 



:*!» 



RESCUE OF THE WHITE CAPTIVE. 259 

white women, as he was confident the Indians had some cap- 
tives. The company which had been ordered to take possess- 
ion of the village after its capture, soon found two white 
women, one of whom had just been killed and the other 
wounded, Thej were both Swedes, and the survivor could 
not talk English. A Swedish soldier, hoM'ever, was soon 
found who could talk with her. The name of this woman 
was Mrs. "Weichel, and her story as told to the soldier was, 
that as soon as the Indians saw the troops coming down upon 
them, a squaw — Tall Bull's wife — had killed Mrs. Alderdice, 
the other captive, with a hatchet, and then wounded her. 
This squaw had evidently intended to kill both women to 
prevent them from telling how cruelly they had been treated. 
The attack lasted but a short time, and tlie Indians were 
•driven several miles away. The soldiers then gathered in 
the herd of Indian horses, which were running at large over 
the country and drove them back to the camp. After taking 
& survey of what we had accomplished, it was found that we 
had killed about one hundred and forty Indians, and cap- 
tured one hundred and twenty squaws and papooses, two 
hundred lodges, and eight hundred horses and mules. The 
village proved to be one of the richest I had ever seen. 
The red-skins had everything pertaining to an Indian 
camp, besides numerous articles belonging to the white 
settlers whom they liad killed on the Saline. ' The Pawnees, 
as well as the soldiers, ransacked the camp for curiosities, 
and found enough to start twenty museums, besides a large 
amount of gold and silver. This money had been stolen 
from the Swedish settlers whom they had murdered on the 
Saline. General Carr ordered that all the tepees, the Indian 
lodges, buffalo robes, all camp equipage and provisions, in- 
cluding dried buffalo meat, amounting to several tons, should 
be gathered in piles and burned. A grave was dug in 
which the dead Swedish woman, Mrs. Alderdice, was buried. 
Captain Kane, a religious officer, read the burial service, as 
we had no chaplain with us. 



260 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

While this was going on, the Sioux warriors having recov- 
ered from their surprise, had come back and a battle took 
place all around the camp. I was on the skirmish line, and 
I noticed an Indian, who was riding a large bay horse, and 
giving orders to his men in his own language — which I could 
occasionally understand — telling them that they had lost 
everything, that they were ruined, and he entreated them to 
follow him, and fight until they died. His horse was an ex- 
traordinary one, fleet as the wind, dashing here and there^ 
and I determined to capture him if possible, but I was afraid 
to tire at the Indian for fear of killing the horse. 

I noticed that the Indian, as he rode around the skirmish 
line, passed the head of a ravine not far distant, and it oc- 
curi'ed to me that if I could dismount and creep to the 
ravine I could, as he passed there, easily drop him from his 
saddle without danger of hitting the horse. Accordingly I 
crept into and seci'eted myself in the ravine, reaching the 
place unseen by the Indians, and I waited there until Mr- 
Chief came riding by. 

When he was not more than thirty yards distant I fired, 
and the next moment he tumbled from his saddle, and the 
horse kept on without his rider. Instead of running toward 
the Indians, however, he galloped toward our men, by one 
of whom he was caught. Lieutenant Mason,who had been 
very conspicuous in the fight and who had killed two or 
three Indians himself, single-handed, came galloping up to 
the ravine and jumping from his horse, secured the fancy 
war bonnet from the head of the dead chief, together with 
all his other accoutrements. We both then rejoined the 
soldiers, and I at once went in search of the horse ; I found 
him in the possession of Sergeant McGrrith, who had caught 
him. The Sergeant knew that I had been trying to get the 
animal and having seen me kill his rider, he handed him 
over to me at once. 

Little did I think at that time that I had captured a horse 
which, for four years afterwards was the fastest. runner in 



LAMENT OF TALL HULL'S WIFE. 



261 



the state of Nebraska, but such proved to be the fact. I 
jumped on his back and rode hini down to the spot where 




the prisoners were corri 

One of the squaws among t 

the prisoners suddenly ^ \ 

began crying in a pitiful .'v^Viili* 

and hysterical manner at \ ^ Vx*' .' 

the sight of this horse, and 

upon inquiry I found that 

she was Tall Bull's wife, 

the same squaw that had the killing of tall bull. 

killed one of the w-hite women and wounded the other. 

She stated that this was her husband's favorite war-horse, 

and that only a short time ago she had seen Tall Bull riding 

him. I gave her to understand that her liege lord had passed 

in his mortal chips and that it would be sometime before he 

would ride his favorite horse again, and I informed her that 

henceforth I should call the gallant steed " Tall Bull," in 

honor of her husband. 



262 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

Late in the evening our wagon train arrived, and placing 
the wounded woman, Mrs. Weichel, in the ambulance — she 
having been kindly attended to by the surgeons, — and gath- 
ering up the prisoners — the squaws and papooses — and cap- 
tured stock, we started at once for the South Platte River, 
eight miles distant, and there went into camp. 

Next morning General Carr issued an order that all the 
money found in the village should be turned over to the 
adjutant. About one thousand dollars was thus collected, 
and the entire amount was given to Mis. Weichel. The 
command then proceeded to Fort Sedgwick, from which 
point the particulars of our fight, which took place on Sun- 
day, July 11 til, 1869, were telegraphed to all parts of the 
country. 

We remained at this post for two weeks, during which 
General Augur, of the Department of the Platte, paid us a 
visit, and highly complimented the command for the gallant 
service it had performed. For this light at Summit Springs 
General Carr and his command were complimented not only 
in General Orders, but received a vote of thanks from the 
Legislatures of Nebraska and Colorado — as Tall Bull and 
his Indians had long been a terror to the border settlements 
— and the resolutions of thanks were elegantly engrossed and 
sent to General Carr. 

The wounded white woman was cared for in the hospital 
at this post, and after her recovery she soon married the 
hospital steward, her former husband having been killed by 
the Indians. 

Our prisoners were sent to the Whetstone Agency, on the 
Missouri River, where Spotted Tail and the friendly Sioux 
were then living. The captured horses and mules were dis- 
tributed among the officers, scouts and soldiers. Among the 
animals that I thus obtained were my Tall Bull horse, 
and a pony which I called " Powder Face," and which after- 
wards became quite celebrated, as he figured prominently in 
the stories of Ned Buntliue. 



NED BUNTLINE. 263 

One day, while we were lying at Fort Sedgwick, General 
Carr received a telegram from Fort McPlierson stating that 
the Indians had made a dash on the Union Pacific Railroad, 
and had killed several section-men and run ofi'some stock near 
O'Fallon's Station ; also that an expedition was going out 
from Fort McPherson to catch and punish the red-skins if 
possible. The General ordered me to accompany the expe- 
dition, and accordingly that night I proceeded by rail to Mc- 
Pherson Station, and from thence rode on horseback to the 
fort. Two companies, under command of Major Brown, 
had been ordered out, and next morning, just as we were 
about to start, Major Brown said to me : 

" By the way, Cody, we are going to liave quite an im- 
portant character with us as a guest on this scout. It's old 
Ned Buntline, the novelist." 

Just then I noticed a gentleman, who was rather stoutly 
built, and who wore a blue military coat, on the left breast 
of which were pinned about twenty gold medals and badges 
of secret societies. He walked a little lame as he approached 
us, and I at once concluded that he was Ned Buntline. 

" He has a good mark to shoot at on the left breast," said 
I to Major BroM-n, " but he looks like a soldier." As he 
came up. Major Brown said : 

" Cody, allow me to introduce you to Colonel E. B. C. 
Judson, otherwise known as Ned Buntline." 

" Colonel Judson, I am glad to meet you," said I ; " the 
Major tells me that you are to accompany us on the scout." 

" Yes, my boy. so I am," said he ; " I was to deliver a 
temperance lecture to-night, but no lectures for me when 
there is a prospect for a fight. The Major has kindly offered 
me a horse, but I don't know how I'll stand the ride, for I 
haven't done any riding lately ; but when I was a young man 
I spent several years among the fur companies of the North- 
west, and was a good rider and an excellent shot." 

" The Major has given you a fine horse," and you'll soon 
find yourself at home in the saddle," said I. 



264 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

The command soon pulled out for the South Platte River^ 
which was very wide and high, owing to recent mountain 
rains, and in crossing it we had to pwim our horses in some 
places. Buntline was the first man across. We reached 
O'Fallon's at eleven o'clock, and in a short time I succeeded 
in finding the Indian trail ; the party seemed to be a small 
one, which had come up from the south. We followed their 
track to the North Platte, but as they had a start of two 
days. Major Brown abandoned the pursuit, and returned to 
Port McPherson, while I went back to Port Sedgwick, 
accompanied by Buntline. 

During this short scout, Buntline had asked me a great 
many questions, and he was determined to go out on the 
next expedition with me, providing he could obtain permis- 
sion from the commanding ofiicer. I introduced him to the 
ofiicers — excepting those he already knew — and invited him 
to become ray guest while he remained at the post, and gave 
him my pony Powder Face to ride. 

By this time I had learned that my horse Tall Bull 
was a remarkably fast runner, and therefore when Lieu- 
tenant Mason, who was quite a sport and owned a racer, 
challenged me to a race, I immediately accepted it. We 
were to run our horses a single dash of half a mile for one 
hundred dollars a side. Several of the ofiicers, and also 
Reub. Wood, the post-trader, bantered me for side bets, and 
I took them all nntil I had put up my last cent on Tall 
Bull. 

The ground was measured off, the judges were selected, 
and all other preliminaries were arranged. We rode our 
horses ourselves, and coming up to the score nicely we let 
them go. I saw from the start that it would be mere play 
to beat the Lieutenant's horse, and therefore I held Tall 
Bull in check, so that none could see how fast he really 
could run. I easily won the race, and pocketed a snug little 
sum of money. Of course everybody was now talking 
horse. Major North remarked that if Tall Bull could 



HORSE RACING. 265 

beat the Pawnees' fast horse, I could break his whole com- 
mand. 

The next day the troops were paid off, the Pawnees with 
the rest, and for two or three days they did nothing but rmi 
horse-races, as all the recently captured horses had to be 
tested to find out the swiftest among them. Finally the 
Pawnees wanted to run their favorite horse against Tall 
Bull, and I accordingly arranged a race with them. They 
raised three hundred dollars and bet it on their horse, while 
of course, I backed Tall Bull with an equal amount, and 
in addition took numerous side bets. The race was a single 
dash of a mile, and Tall Bull won it without any diffi- 
culty. I was ahead on this race about seven hundred dol- 
lars, and the horse was fast getting a reputation. Hereto- 
fore nobody would bet on him, but now he had plenty of 
backers. 

I also made a race for my pony Powder Face, against 
a fast pony belonging to Captain Lute North. I selected a 
small boy, living at the post to ride Powder Face, while 
an Indian boy was to ride the other pony. The Pawnees as 
usual wanted to bet on their pony, but as I had not yet 
fully ascertained the running qualities of Powder Face, 
I did not care about risking very much money on him. 
Had I known him as well then as I did afterwards I would 
have backed him for every dollar I had, for he proved to be 
one of the swiftest ponies I ever saw, and had evidently 
been kept as a racer. 

The race was to be four hundred yards, and when I led 
the pony over the track he seemed to understand what he 
was there for. North and I finally put the riders on, and it 
was all I could do to hold the fiery little animal after 
the boy became seated on his back. He jumped around 
and made such quick movements, that the boy was not 
at all confident of being able to stay on him. The order 
to start was at last given by the judges, and as I brought 
Powder Face up to the score and the word " go " was 



266 LIFE OP BUFFALO BILL. 

given, he jumped away so quickly that he left his rider sit- 
ting on the ground ; nothwithstanding he ran through and 
won the race without him. It was an easy victory, and 
after that I could get up no more races. Thus passed the 
time while we were at Fort Sedgwick. 

General Carr having obtained a leave of absence. Colonel 
Royal was given the command of an expedition that was 
ordered to go out after the Indians, and in a few days^after 
having rested a couple of Mxeks — -we set out for the Repub- 
lican ; having, learned that there were plenty of Indians in 
that section of the country. At Frenchman's Fork we 
discovered an Indian village, but did not surprise it, for its 
people had noticed us approaching, and were retreating when 
we reached their camping-place. We chased them down 
the stream, and they finally turned to the left, went north 
and crossed the South Platte river five miles above 
Ogallala. We pushed rapidly after them, following them 
across the North Platte and on through the sand-hills 
towards the Niobrara ; but as they were making much better 
time than we, the pursuit was abandoned. 

While we were in the sand-hills, scouting. the Niobrara 
country; the Pawnee Indians brought into camp, one night, 
some very large bones, one of which a surgeon of the expe- 
dition pronounced to be the thigh-bone of a human being. 
The Indians claimed that the bones they had found were 
those of a person belonging to a race of people who a long 
time ago lived in this country. That there was once a race 
of men on the earth whose size was about three times that of 
an ordinary man, and they were so swift and powerful that 
they could run along-side of a bujBPalo, and taking the animal 
in one arm could tear off a leg and eat the meat as they 
walked. These giants denied the existence of a Great Spirit, 
and when they heard the thunder or saw the lightning they 
laughed at it and said that they were greater than either. 
This so displeased the Great Spirit that he caused a great 
rain-storm to come, and the water kept rising higher and 



AN INDIAN LEGEND. 



2GT 



higher so that it drove those proud and conceited giants 
from the low grounds to the hills, and thence to the moun- 
tains, but at last even the mountain tops were submereed 
and then those mammoth men were all drowned. After 
the -flood had subsided, the Great Spirit came to the con- 
clusion that he had made man too large and powerful, and 
that he would therefore correct the mistake hy creating a 
race of men of smaller size and less strength. This is the 
reason, say the Indians, that modern men are small and not 
like the giants of old, and they claim that this story is a 
matter of Indian history, which has been handed down, 
among them from time immemorial. 

As we had no wagons with us at the time this large and 
heavy bone was found, we were obliged to leave it. 




-^/ 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

ADMINISTERING JUSTICE. 

OK returning to Fort McPlierson we found that Brevet 
Major General W. H. Emory, Colonel of the Fifth Cav- 
alry, and Brevet Brigadier General Thomas Duncan, Lieu- 
tenant Colonel of the regiment, had arrived there during 
our absence. General Emory had been appointed to the 
command of the District of the Republican, with headquar- 
ters at Fort McPherson. As the command had been con- 
tinually in the Held, it was generally thought that we were to 
have a long rest ; and it looked as if this post was to be my 
home and headquarters for some time to come. I accord- 
ingly sent to St. Louis for my wife and daughter to join me 
there. General Emory promised to build a house for me, 
but before the building was completed my family arrived. 

During the fall of 1869 there were two or three scouting 
expeditions sent out ; but nothing of very great importance 
was accomplished by them. I found Fort McPherson to be 
a lively and pleasant post to be stationed at, especially as 
there was plenty of game in the vicinity, and within a day's 
ride there were large herds of deer, antelope and elk. 

During the winter of 1869 — 70 I spent a great deal of 
time in pursuit of game, and during the season we had two 
hunting parties of Englishmen there ; one party being that 
of Mr. Flynn, and the other that of George Boyd Houghton, 

268 



THE LAST OF POWDER FACE. 269 

of London — the well known caricaturist. Among their 
amusements were several horse races, which 1 arranged, and 
in which Tall Bull and Powder Face were invariably the 
winners. Tall Bull by this time had such a reputation as 
a running horse, that it was difficult to make a race for him. 
I remember one however, in which he ran against a horse 
in Captain Spaulding's Company of the Second Cavalry. 

This race was rather a novel affair. I had made a bet that 
Tall Bull would beat the Second Cavalry horse around a one 
mile track, and, during the time that he was running, I would 
jump off and on the horse eight times. I rode the horse 
bareback ; seized his mane with my left hand, rested my 
right on his withers, and while he was going at full speed, I 
jumped to the ground, and sprang again upon his back, eight 
times in succession. Such feats I had seen performed in 
the circus and I had practiced, considerably at it with Tall 
Bull, so that I was certain of winning the race in the man- 
ner agreed upon. 

Early one morning, in the spring of 1870, the Indians, 
who had approached during the night, stole some twenty-one 
head of horses from Mr. John Burke — a Government con- 
tractor — Ben. Gallagher and Jack Waite. They also ran off 
some horses from the post ; among the number being my 
pony Powder Face. The commandant at once ordered 
out Lieutenant Thomas with Company I of the Fifth Cav- 
alry, and directed me to accompany them as trailer. We 
discovered the trail after some little difficulty, as the Indians 
were continually trying to hide it, and followed it sixty 
miles, when darkness set in. 

We were now within about four miles of Bed Willow 
Creek and 1 felt confident the Indians would camp that 
night in that vicinity. Advising Lieutenant Thomas to halt 
his company and " lay low " I proceeded on to the creek, 
where, moving around cautiously, I suddenly discovered 
horses feeding in a bend of the stream on the opposite side. 
I hurried back to the troops with the information, and Lieu- 
16 



270 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

tenant Thomas moved bis company to tlie bank of tbe creek, 
with the intention of remaining there until daylight, and 
then, if possible, surprise the Indians. 

Just at break of day we mounted our horses, and after 
riding a short distance Vv'e ascended a slight elevation, 
when, not over one hundred yards distant, we looked down 
into the Indian camp. The Indians, preparing to make an 
early start, had driven up their horses and were in the act 
of mounting, wlien tliey saw us charging down upon them. 
In a moment they sprang upon tlieir ponies and dashed 
away. Had it not been for the creek, which lay between us 
and them, we would have got them before they could have 
mounted their horses; but as it was rather miry, we were 
unexpectedly delayed. The Indians fired some t-liots at us 
while we wara crossing, but as soon us we got across we 
went for them in hot pursuit. A few of the red-sldns 
had not had time to mount and had started on foot down the 
creek toward tlie brush. One of these was killed. 

A number of our soldiers, who had been detailed before 
the charge to gather up any of the Indian horses that would 
be stampeded, succeeded in capturing thirty-two. I hur- 
riedly looked over them to see if Powder Face was rnioug 
them; but he was not there. Starting in pursuit of the 
fugitives I finally espied an Indian mounted on my fa\ oiite, 
dashing away and leading all the others. We continued tlie 
chase for two or three miles, overtaking a couple who were 
mounted upon one horse. Coming up behind them I fired 
my rifle, when about thirty feet distant ; the ball passed 
through the backs of both, and they fell headlong to the 
ground ; but I made no stop however just then, for I had 
my eye on the gentleman who was riding Powder Face. 
It seemed to be fun for him to run away from us, and run 
away he did, for the last I saw of him was when he went 
over a divide, about three miles away. I bade him adieu. 
On my way back to the Indian camp I stoi)ped and 
secured the war bonnets and accoutrements of the pair I 



GEN'L. DUNCAN'S EXPEDITION 271 

bad killed, and at tlie same time gently " raised their hair." 

"We were feeling ratliel* tired and hungry, as we had 
started out on the trail thirty-six hours before without a 
breakfast or taking any food with us ; but not a murmur or 
complaint was heard among the men. In the abandoned 
Indian camp, however, we found enough dried bufialo meat 
to give us all a meal, and after remaining there for two 
liuiiiv, to rest onr animals, we started on our return to Fort 
M'-Phersoii, where we arrived at night, having traveled 130 
inil<\- in 1 v.o days. 

T;iis being the first fight Lieutenant Thoni;;s had ever 
coiiinriiiiled in, lie telt highly elated over his success, and 
liDjK'd that liis name would be mentioned in the special 
ui'Jers fur gallantry ; sure enough when we returned both 
hi', myself and the whole ccjuunand received a compli- 
mentary mention in a special order. This he certainly 
deserved for he was a brave, energetic, dashing little oilicer. 
Tlie war bounets which I had captured I turned over to 
G 'uoral Carr, with the request that he ])resent them to Gen- 
eral Augur, whose daughters were visiting at the post at the 
ti;iie. 

Slior'Jy aftci' tin's, another expedition was organized at 
Fort McFlierson for the Republican river country. It was 
fO'.nmanded by General Duncan, who was a jolly, blustering 
old fellow, ami the ollicers who knew him well, said that we 
would have a t-M»od time, as he was very fond of hunting. 
Ill) was a good fightei-, and one of the officers said that an 
Indian bullet i;e\ cr could hurt him. as he had been shot in 
tin; head with a c.mnon l):ill Vvhich had not injured him in 
the least; another said the ball glanced off and killed one of 
th? tO;!L!'!;e-t mu'e- in th.e army. 

Tlic Pawnee scouts who had born mustered out of service, 
daring tlie wir.ter of ISCO and '70, were reorganized to 
accompany this expedition. I was glad of this, as I had 
become quite attached to one of the officers. Major North, 
and to many of the Indians. The only white scout we had 



2T2 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

at the post, besides myself at that time, was John Y. Kel- 
son, whose Indian name was Cha-Sha-Cha-Opoyeo,* which 
interpreted means Red-Willow-Fill-the-Fipe. This man is a 
character in his way ; he has a Sioux squaw for a wife, and 
consequently a half-breed family, John is a good fellow, 
though as a liar he has but few equals and no superior. 

We started out from the post with the regimental band 
playing the lively air of " The Girl I Left Behind Me." We 
made but a short march that day, and camped at night at 
the head of Fox Creek. Next morning General Duncan sent 
me word by his orderly that I was to bring up my gun and 
shoot at a mark with him ; but I can assure the reader that 
I did not feel much like shooting anything except myself, for 
on the night before, I had returned to Fort McFherson and 
spent several hours in interviewing the sutler's store, in 
c6mpany with Major Brown. I looked around for my gun, 
and found that I had left it behind. The last I could, 
remember about it was that I had it at the sutler's store. I 
informed Major Brown of my loss, who said that I was a 
nice scout to start out without a gun. I replied that that 
was not the worst of it, as General Duncan had sent for me 
to shoot a match with him, and I did not know what to do ; 
for if the old gentleman discovered my predicament, he 
would very likely severely reprimand me. 

" Well, Cody," said he, " the best you can do is to make 
some excuse, and then go and borrow a gun from some of 
the men, and tell the General that you lent yours to some 
man to go hunting with to-day. While we are waiting 
here, I will send back to the post and get your rifle for you." 

I succeeded in obtaining a gun from John Nelson, and then 
marching up to the General's headquarters I shot the de- 
sired match with him, which resulted in his favor. 

This was the first scout the Pawnees had been out on 

♦ Since traveled with me in my Dramatic Combination as interpreter for 
Sioux Indians. 



PAWNEE SENTINELS. 273 

iinder command of General Duncan, and in stationing his 
guards around the camp he posted them in a manner entirely 
different from that of General Carr and Colonel Royal, and 
he insisted that the difierent posts should call out the hour 
of the night thus : 

"Post No. 1, nine o'clock, all is Avell ! Post No. 2, nine 
o'clock, all is well ! " etc. 

The Pawnees, who had their regular turns at standing 
upon guard, were ordered to call the hour the same as the 
white soldiers. This was yery difficult for them to do, as 
there were but few of them M'ho could express themselves in 
English. Major North explained to them that when the 
man on post next to them should call out the hour, they 
must call it also as near like him as possible. It was very 
amusing to hear them do this. They would try to remem- 
ber what the other man had said on the post next to them. 
For instance, a white soldier would call out : "Post No. 1, 
lialf-past nine o'clock, all is well ! " The Indian standing 
next to him knew that he was bound to say something in 
English, and he would sing out something like the fol- 
lowing : 

" Poss number half pass live cents — go to ! I don't 

care ! " 

This system was really so ridiculous and amusing that the 
General had to give it up, and the order was accordingly 
countermanded. 

Nothing of any great interest occurred on this march, 
until one day, while proceeding up Prairie Dog Creek,* 
Major North and myself went out in advance of the com- 
mand several miles and killed a number of buffaloes. Night 
was approaching, and I began to look around for a suitable 
camping ground for the command. Major North dis- 
mounted from his horse and was resting, while I rode 



* Near the lonely camp where I had so long been laid up with a broken 
leg, when trapping years before with Dave Harrington. 



274 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

down to the stream to see if there was plenty of grass in 
the vicinity. I found an excellent camping spot, and return- 
ing to Major North told him that I would ride over the 
hill a little way, so that the advance guard could see me. 
This I did, and when the advance came in sight I dis- 
mounted and laid down upon the grass to rest. 

Suddenly 1 heard three or four shots, and in a few 
moments Major North came dashing up towards me, pur- 
sued by eight or ten Indians. I instantly sprang into my 
saddle, and fired a few shots at the Indians, who by this 
time had all come in sight, to the number of fifty. "We 
turned our horses and ran, the bullets ilying after us thick 
and fast — my whip being shot from my hand and daylight 
being put through the crown of my hat. We were in close 
quarters, when suddenly Lieutenant Yalkmar came gallop- 
ing up to our relief with several soldiei'S, and the Indians 
seeing them whirled and retreated. As soon as Major 
North got in sight of his Pawnees, he began riding in a 
circle. This was a sign to them that there were hostile 
Indians in front, and in a moment the Pawnees broke ranks 
pell-mell and, with Major North at their head, started for 
the flying warriors. The rest of the command pushed rap- 
idl}^ forward also, and chased the enemy for three or four 
miles, killing three of them. 

But this was a wrong move on our part, as their village 
was on Prairie Dog Creek, while they led us in a different 
direction ; one Indian only kept straight on up the creek — a 
messenger to the village. Some of the command, who had 
followed him, stirred up the village and accelerated its 
departure. We finally got back to the main force, and 
then learned that we had made a great mistake. Now com- 
menced another stern chase. 

The second day that we . had been following these 
Indians we came upon an old squaw, whom they had left on 
the prairie to die. Her people had built for her a little 
Bhade or lodge, and had given her some provisions, sufficient 



THE DESERTED SQUAW. 275 

to last her on her trip to the Happy Hunting grounds. 
This the Indians often do when pursued by an enemy, 
and one of their number becomes too old and feeble to 
travel any longer. This squaw was recognized by John 
Nelson who said that she was a relative of his wife. From 
her we learned that the flying Indians were known as Paw- 
nee, Killer's band, and that they had lately killed Buck's 
surveying party, consisting of eight or nine men ; the mas- 
sacre having occurred a few days before on Beaver Creek. 
We knew that they had had a fight with surveyors, as we 
found quite a number of surveying instruments, which 
had been left in the abandoned camp. We drove these 
Indians across the Platte river and then returned to Fort 
McPherson, bringing the old squaw with us, from there she 
was sent to the Spotted Tail Agency. 

During my absence, my wife had given birth to a son, 
and he was several weeks old when I returned. No name had 
yet been given him and I selected that of Elmo Judson, in 
honor of Ned Buntline ; but this the officers and scouts 
objected to. Major Brown proposed that we should call 
him Kit Carson, and it was finally settled that that should 
be his name. 

During the summer we made one or two more scouts and 
had a few skirmishes with the Indians: but nothing of any 
great importance transpired. In the fall of 1870, while I 
was a witness in a court martial at Fort D. A. Russell I 
woke up one morning and found that I was dead broke; 
— this is not an unusual occurrence to a frontiersman, or an 
author I may add, especially when he is endeavoring to kill 
time — to raise necessary funds I sold my race horse Tall 
Bull to Lieutenant Mason, who had long wanted him. 

In the winter of 1870 and 1871 I first met George Watts 
Garland, an English gentleman, and a great hunter, whom I 
had the pleasure of guiding on several hunts and with whom 
I spent some weeks. During the winter I also took several 
parties out on the Loupe River country, hunting and 



276 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

trapping. Although I was still chief of scouts I did not 
have much to do, as the Indians were comparatively quiet, 
thus giving me plenty of time for sporting. 

In the spring of 1871 several short scouting expeditions 
were sent out from Fort McPherson, but all with minor 
results. 

About this time General Emory was considerably annoyed 
by petty offenses committed in the vicinity of the post, and 
as there was no justice of the peace in the neighborhood, he 
was anxious to have such an officer there to attend to the 
civilians ; one day he remarked to me that I would make 
an excellent justice. 

" General, you compliment me rather too highly, for I 
don't know any more about law than a government mule 
does about book-keeping," said I. 

" That doesn't make any difference," said he, "for I know 
that you will make a good 'Squire." He accordingly had 
the county commissioners appoint me to the office of justice 
of the peace, and I soon received my commission. 

One morning a man came rushing up to my house and 
stated that he wanted to get out a writ of replevin, to recover 
possession of a horse which a stranger was taking out of the 
country. I had no blank forms, and had not yet received 
the statutes of Nebraska to copy from, so I asked the man : 

" Where is the fellow who has got your horse ? " 

" He is going up the road, and is about two miles away," 
replied he. 

" Yery well," said I, " I will get the writ ready in a min- 
ute or two." 

I saddled up my horse, and then taking my old reliable 
gun, " Lucretia," I said to the man : " That's the best writ 
of replevin that I can think of ; come along, and we'll get 
that horse, or know the reason why." 

We soon overtook the stranger who was driving a herd of 
horses, and as we came up to him, I said : 

"Hello, sir; 1 am an officer, and have an attachment for 



A JUSTICE OF THE PEACE. 277 

that horse," and at the same time I pointed out the animaL 

" Well, sir, what are jou going to do about it ? " he 
inquired. 

" I propose to take you and the horse back to the post," 
said I. 

" You can take the horse," said he, " but I haven't the 
time to return with you." 

" You'll have to take the time, or pay the costs here and 
now," said I. 

" How much are the costs? " 

" Twenty dollars." 

"Here's your money," said he, as he handed me the 
greenbacks. 

I then gave him a little friendly advice, and told him that 
he was released from custody. He went on his way a wiser 
and a poorer man, while the owner of the horse and myself 
returned to the fort. I pocketed the twenty dollars, of 
course. Some people might think it was not a square way of 
doing business, but I didn't know any better just then. I 
had several little cases of this kind, and I became better 
posted on law in the course of time, being assisted by Lieu- 
tenant Burr Reilly, of the Fifth Cavalry, who had been 
educated for a lawyer. 

One evening I was called upon to perform a marriage cer- 
emony. The bridegroom was one of the sergeants of the 
post. I had "braced up" for the occasion by imbibing^ 
rather freely of stimulants, and when I arrived at the house, 
with a copy of the Statutes of Nebraska, which I had 
recently received, I felt somewhat confused. Whether my 
bewilderment was owing to the importance of the occa- 
sion and the large assembly, or to the efi'eot of Louis Woodin's 
" tanglefoot," I cannot now distinctly remember — but my 
suspicions have always been that it was due to the latter 
cause. I looked carefully througli the statutes to find the 
marriage ceremony, but my eiforts were unsuccessful. 
Finally the time came for the knot to be tied. I told the 
couple to stand up, and then I said to the bridegroom : 



278 



LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 



" Do you take this woman to be your lawful wedded wife, 
to support and love her through life ? " 

" I do," was the reply. 

Then addressing myself to the bride, I said, "Do you 
take this man to be your lawful wedded husband through 
life, to love, honor and obey him ? " 




A WKDDING CERKMON^ 



" I do," was her response. 

" Then join hands," said I to both of them ; " I now pro- 
nounce you to be man and wife, and whomsoever God 
and Buffalo Bill have joined together let no man put asunder. 
May you live long and prosper. Amen." 

This concluded the interesting ceremony, which was fol- 
lowed by the usual festivities on such occasions. I was 
highly complimented for the elegant and eloquent manner 
in which I had tied the matrimonial knot. 

During the summer of 1871, Professor Marsh, of Yale 
College, came out to McPherson, with a large party of stu- 



A SCIENTIFIC BONE HUNT. 



279 



dents to have a hunt and to look for fossils. Professor 
Marsh had heard of the big bone which had been found by 
the Pawnees in the Niobrara country, and he intended to 
look for that as M'ell as other bones. lie accordingly secured 
the services of Major Frank North and the Pawnees as an 
escort. I was also to accompany the bone-hunters, and 
would liave done so had it not been for the fact that just at 




A KIDE FOK LIFE. 



that time I was ordered out with a small scouting party to 
go after some Indians. 

The day before the Professor arrived at the fort, I had 
been out hunting on tlie north side of the North Platte 
River, near Pawnee Springs, with several companions, when 
we were suddenly attacked by Indians, wlio wounded one 
of our number, John Weister. We stood the Indians oil for 
a little while, and Weister got even with them by killing 
one of their party. The Indians, however, outnumbered us, 
and at last we were forced to make a run for our lives. In 



280 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

this we succeeded, and reached the fort in safety. The Gen- 
eral wanted to have the Indians pursued, and said he could 
not spare me to accomjDany Professor Marsh. 

However, I had the opportunity to make the acquaintance 
of the eminent Professor, whom I found to be not only a 
well-posted person but a very entertaining gentleman. He 
gave me a geological history of the country ; told me in what 
section fossils were to be found ; and otherwise entertained 
me with several scientific yarns, some of which seemed too 
complicated and too mysterious to be believed by an ordi- 
nary man like myself; but it was all clear to him. I rode 
out with him several miles, as he was starting on his bone- 
hunting expedition, and I greatly enjoyed the ride. His 
party had been provided with Government transportation 
and his students were all mounted on Government horses. 

As we rode along he delivered a scientific lecture, and he 
convinced me that he knew what he was talking about. I 
finally bade him good-bye, and returned to the post. While 
the fossil -hunters were out on their expedition, we had sev- 
eral lively little skirmishes with the Indians. After having 
been al)sent some little time Professor Marsh and his party 
came back with their wagons loaded down with all kinds of 
bones, and the Professor was in his glory. He had evi- 
dently struck a bone-yard, and "gad!"* wasn't he happy ! 
But they had failed to find the big bone which the Pawnees 
had unearthed the year before, 

* A favorite expreasion of the Professor's. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 



HUNTING EXPEDITION. 



EARLY in the month of September, ISTl, information 
was received at Fort McPiierson that General Sheridan 
and a party of invited friends were coming out to the post 
to have a grand hunt in the vicinity, and to explore the 
country from McPherson to Fort Hays, in Kansas, On the 
morning of September 22d they arrived in a special car at 
^ iNorth Platte, a station on tlic Union Pacific, distant eighteen 
miles from Fort McPherson. 

The party consisted of General Sheridan, Lawrence R. 
Jerome, James Gordon Bennett, of the jS^ew York Herald; 
Leonard AV. Jerome, Carroll Livingston, Major J. G. Heck- 
sher. General Fitzhugh, General H. E. Davies, Captain M. 
Edward Rogers, Colonel J. Schuyler Crosby, Samuel John- 
son, General Anson Stager, of the Western Union Tele- 
graph Company ; Charles Wilson, editor of the Chicago 
Evening Journal \ General Rucker, Quartermaster-General, 
and Dr. Asch — the two last-named being of General Sheri- 
dan's staff. They were met at the station by General 
Emory and Major Brown, with a cavalry company as escort 
and a sufficient number of vehicles to carry the distin- 
guished visitors and their baggage. 

A brisk drive of less than two hours over a hard and 
smooth road brought tliem to the fort, where they found the 

281 



282 LIFE OP BUFFALO BILL. 

garrison, consisting of five comj^anies of the Fifth Cavalry, 
under tlie coinuuind of General Carr, out on parade awaiting 
their arrival. The band phvyed sonie martial music, and the 
cavalry passed very handsomely in review before General 
Sheridan. The guests were then most hospitably received, 
and assigned to comfortable quarters. 

LieuteniUjt Hayes, the quartermaster of tne expedition, 
arranged everything for the comfort of the party. One 
hundred cavalry under command of Major Brown were 
detailed as r.n escort. A train of sixteen wagons was pro- 
vided to carry the baggage, supplies, and forage for the 
trip ; and, besides these, there were three four-horse ambu- 
lances in Avliich the guns were carried, and in which mem- 
bers of the party who became weary of the saddle might 
ride and rest. At General Sheridan's request I was to 
accompany the expedition; he introduced me to all hi& 
friends, and gave me a good send-off. 

During the afternoon and. evening the gentlemen were all 
entertained at the post in a variety of ways, including dinner 
and supper parties, and music and dancing; at a late hour 
they retired to rest in tlie'r tents at the camp which they 
occupied outside the post — named Camp Euckerin honor of 
General Rucker. 

At five o'clock next morning a cavalry bugle sounded the 
reveille, and soon all were astir in the camp, preparatory to 
pulling out for the first day's march. I rose fresh and eager 
for the trip, and as it Avas a nobby and hiah-toned outfit 
which I was to accompany, I determined to put on a little 
style myself. So I dressed in a new suit of light buckskin, 
trimmed along the seams with fringes of the same material ; 
and I put on a crimson sliirt handsomely ornamented on the 
bosom, while on my head I wore a broad somhrero. Then 
mounting a snowy white horse — a gallant stepper — I rode 
down from the fort to tlie CMmp, rifle in hand. I felt first- 
rate that morning, and looked well. 

The expedition was soon under way. Our road for ten 



I 



GEN'L. SHERIDAN'S EXCURSION. 2S3 

miles wound through a wooded ravine called Cottonwood 
Canon, intersecting the high ground, or divide, as it is 
called, between tlie Platte and Republican Rivers. Upon 
emerging from the canon we found ourselves upon the 
plains. First in the line rode General Sheridan, followed 
by his guests, and then the orderlies. Then came the am- 
bulances, in one of which were carried five greyhounds, 
brought along: to course the antrloi^c raid rabbit. "With the 
ambulances marched a pair of Indian j^jnies belonging to 
Lieutenant Hayes — captured du:in;^ some Indian fight— and 
harnessed to a liglit wagon, which GemTal Sheridan occa- 
bionaliy used. These little horfccs, br.t thirteen hands high, 
showed more vigor and endurance than :iny other of the ani- 
mals we had with us. FoHowiiig the ambulances came the 
main body of the escort and tlie pn;);)ly Vv'ngons. 

We marched seventeen mile^i the iirst day, and went into 
camp on Fox Creek, a tributary of the Rc]mblican. No 
hunting had as yet been done ; Iir.t I informed the gentle- 
men of the party th.it v;u wovAd strike the btilTalo country 
the next day. A ]in:i('red or more questions were then 
asked me by this omo a::d lh;;t one, and the who^o evening 
was spent princijiaily i:i biiGilo tidk, sandwiched with stories 
of the plain? — both <if war nvA ( f tlie chase. Severn] of the 
partv, wlio were rnod vocalists, rave uh r< me cxcd'ent 
music. V/c (■h>scd the evening by chrlslening the camp, 
namin;: it Gump Li-own, in honor of the gailant officer 
in command of the epcort. 

At three o'clock next nKruing the brgle called ns to an 
early ftavt. Y7e had brealxf-.t-t ;;r, h;d;-];:i.t fui;r, m(1 i.t six 
wero in the saddle. All v. ere eagt r to see and shoot the 
bufialocs. whicli 1 a^snrc.l th m v.e wof.ld cerlainly meet 
during the day. After matching i'.w miles, the advance 
guard, of which I had the command, discovered 8ix bnflalocs 
grazing at a distance of about tv, o n.ilcs fn m its. AVe re- 
turned to the hunters with tin's inrormatloti, {-nd they, at once 
consulted with me as to the best way to attack the " enemy." 



284: LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

Acting upon my suggestions, Fitzliugli, Crosby, Lawrence 
Jerome, Livingston, Ileckslier and Rogers, accompanied by 
myself as guide, rode through a convenient canon to a point 
beyond the buffaloes, so that we were to the windward of 
the animals. The rest of the party made a detour of nearly 
five miles, keeping behind the crest of a hill. We charged 
dow^n upon the buffaloes, at full gallop, and just then the 
other party emerged fi-om their concealment and wit- 
nessed the exciting cliase. The buffaloes started off in a 
line, single file. Fitzhngh, after a lively gallop, led us all 
and soon came alongside the rear buffalo, at which he fired. 
The animal faltered, and then with another shot Fitzhngh 
brought him to the ground. Crosby dashed by him and 
leveled another of the herd, while Livingston dropped a 
third. Those wlio were not directly engaged in the hunt 
now came up and congratulated the men upon their success, 
and Fitzhngh was at once hailed as the winner of the buffalo 
cup ; while all sympathized with Hecksher, whose chance 
had been the best at the start, but who lost by reason of his 
horse falling and rolling over him. 

The hunt being over, the column moved forward on its 
march passing through a prairie-dog town, several miles in 
extent. These animals are found throughout the plains, 
living together in a sort of society ; their numberless bur- 
rows in their " towns " adjoin each other, so that great care is 
necessary in riding through these places, as the ground is so 
undermined as often to fall in under the weight of a horse. 
Around the entrance to their holes the ground is piled up 
almost a foot high ; on these little elevations the prairie- 
dogs sit upon their hind legs, chattering to each other and 
observing whatever passes on the plains. They will jDermit 
a person to approach quite near, but when they have viewed 
him closely, they dive into their dens with M'onderful quick- 
ness. They are difficult to kill, and if hit, generally succeed 
in crawling underground before they can be captured. 
Rattlesnakes and small owls are generally found in great 



FIVE PIONEERS. 



285 



% 






numbers in the prairie-dog towns, and live in the same lioles 
with the dogs on friendly terms. A few of the jn-ah-ic-dogs 
were killed, and were .^=^=;=^-_-=^— __ 

found to be very pala- .^'^"^ ^^^ ^^kJs?- 

table eating. 

A short distance 
beyond the dog town we 
discovered a settlement 
of five white men,- who 
proved to be the two 
Clifford brothers, Arthur 
Ruff, Dick Seymour and 
John Xelson — the latter 
already referred to in 
these pages. Each of 
them had a squaw wife 
and numerous half-breed 
cliildren, living in tents 
of bnflalo skins. They -^^^7; 
owned a herd of horses 
and mules and a few 
cattle, and had cultivated 
a small piece of land. Their principal occupation was hunt- 
ing, and they had a large number of buffalo hides, which 
they had tanned in the Indian manner. 

Upon reaching Pleasant Yalley, on Medicine Creek, our 
party divided into two detachments — one hunting along 
the bank of the stream for elk or deer, and the other 
remaining with the main body of the escort. The elk 
hunters met with no success whatever, but the others ran 
across plenty of buffaloes, and nearly everybody killed one 
or more before the day was over. Lawrence Jerome made 
an excellent shot ; while riding; in an ambulance he killed a 
Buffalo which attempted to cross the line of march. 

At about four o'clock p. m., we arrived at Mitchell's Fork 
of the Medicine, having traveled thirty-five miles during 
17 




PRAIKIE-DOG VILLAGE. 



286 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

that day, and there we went into camp — calling it Camp 
Jack Hayes, in honor of Lieutenant Hayes. 

On the next morning, the 25th, we moved out of camp at 
eight o'clock. The party was very successful through the 
day in securing game, Hecksher, Fitzhugh, Livingston and 
Lieutenant Hayes ; and in fact all did good shooting. 

Lawrence Jerome persuaded me to let him ride Buckskin 
Joe, the best buifalo horse in the whole outfit, and on his back 
he did wonders among the buffaloes. Leonard Jerome, Ben- 
nett and Rogers also were very successful in buffalo hunting. 

Our camp of this night was named Camp Asch to com- 
memorate our surgeon. Dr. Asch. The evening was pleas- 
antly spent around the camp fires in relating the adventures 
of the day. 

Upon crossing the Republican river on the morning of the 
26th, we came npon an immense number of buffaloes scat- 
tered over the countiy in every direction, as far as the eye 
could reach and all had an opportunity to do as miich hunt- 
ing as they wished. The wagons and troops moved slowly 
along in the direction of the next camp, while the hunters 
went oif separately, or by twos and threes, in diflferent 
directions, and all were rewarded with abundant success. 
Lawrence Jerome, however, had his career suddenly checked. 
He had dismounted to make a steady and careful shot, and 
thoughtlessly let go of the bridle. The buffalo failing to 
take a tumble, as he ought to have done, started off at a 
lively gait, followed by Buckskin Joe — the horse being de- 
termined to do some hunting on his own account — the 
last seen of him, he was a little ahead of the buffalo, and 
gaining slightly , leaving his late rider to his own reflections 
and the prospect of a tramp ; his desolate condition was soon 
discovered and another horse warranted not to run under any 
provocation, was sent to him. It may be stated here that 
three days afterwards, as I subsequently learned. Buckskin 
Joe, all saddled and bridle<^turned up at Fort McPherson. 

We pitched our tents for the night in a charming spot on 



A FIRST CLASS DINNER. 287 

the bank of Beaver Creek. The game was so abundant that 
we remained tliere one day. Tliis stopping place was called 
Camp Cody, in honor of the reader's humble servant. 

The next day was spent in hunting jack-rabbits, coyotes, 
elks, antelopes and wild turkeys. We had a splendid dinner 
as will be seen from the following 

BILL OF FAKE. 

SOUP. 

Buflalo Tail. 

FISH. 

Cisco broiled, fried Dace. 

ENTREES. 

Salmi of Prairie Dog, Stewed Rabbit, Fillet of Buffalo, 

Aux Champignons. 

ROAST. 

Elk, AnteK)pe, Black-tailed Deer, Wild Turkey. 

BROILED. 

Teal, Mallarc]/, Antelope Chops, Buffalo-Calf Steaks, 

Young Wild Turkey. 

VEGETABLES. 

Sweet Potatoes, Mashed Potatoes, Green Peas. 

DESSERT. 

Tapioca Pudding. 

WINES. 

Champagne Frappe, Champagne au Naturel, Claret, 

Whiskey, Brandy, Bass' Ale. 

COFFEE. 

This I considered a pretty square 'meal for a party of 
hunters, and everybody did ample justice to it. 

In the evening a court-martial was held, at which I pre- 
sided as chief justice. We tried one of the gentlemen for 
aiding and abetting in the loss of a government horse, and 
for having something to do with the mysterious disappear- 
ance of a Colt's pistol. He was charged also with snoring 
in a manner that was regarded as fiendish, and with commit- 
ting a variety of other less offenses too numerous to men- 
tion, ^t^ 

The accused made a feeble defense as to the pistol, and 



288 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

claimed that instead of losing a government horse, the fact 
was that the horse had lost him. His statements were all 
regarded as " too thin," and finally failing to prove good 
character, he confessed all, and threw himself upon the 
mercy of the court. The culprit was Lawrence Jerome. 

As chief justice I delivered the opinion of the court, 
which my modesty does not prevent me from saying, was 
done in an able and dignified manner ; as an act of clemency 
I suspended judgment for the time being, remarking that 
while the camp fire held out to burn, the vilest sinner might 
return ; and in hope of the accused's amendment, I would 
defer pronouncing sentence. The trial afforded us con- 
siderable amusement, and gave me a splendid opportunity 
to display the legal knowledge which I had acquired while 
acting as justice of the peace at Fort McFherson. 

On the morning of the 28th the command crossed the 
South Beaver, distant nine miles from Camp Cody, and 
then striking a fair road we made a rapid march until we 
reached our camp on Short Nose or Prairie Dog Creek, 
about 2 p. M., after having made twenty-four miles. The 
remainder of the afternoon was spent in hunting buffaloes 
and turkeys. Camp Stager was the name given to this 
place, in honor of General Stager, of the Western Union 
Telegraph Company. 

The next day we made a march of twenty-four miles, and 
then halted at about 1 p. m. on the North Solomon Kiver. 
This day we killed three bufifaloes, two antelopes, two rac- 
coons, and three teal ducks. Near our camp, which we 
named Camp Leonard Jerome, was a beaver dam some six 
feet high and twenty yards wide ; it was near the junction 
of two streams, and formed a pond of at least four acres. 

On the 30th we traveled twenty-five miles, and during the 
march nine turkeys, two rabbits, and three or four buffaloes 
were killed. We went into camp on the bank of the South 
Fork of the Solomon River, tlid called the place Camp Sam 
Johnson. We were now but forty-five miles from Fort 



THE WIND UP. 289 

Hays, the point at wliicli General Sheridan and his guests 
expected to strike the Kansas Pacific Railway, and thence 
return home. That evening 1 volunteered to ride to Fort 
Hays and meet the party next day, bringing with me all the 
letters that might be at the post. Taking the best horse in 
the command I started out, expecting to make the trip in 
about four hours. 

The next morning the command got an early start and 
traveled thirty miles to Saline River, where they made 
their last camp on the plains. As some of the party were 
attacking a herd of buifiiloes, I rode in from Fort Hays and 
got into the middle of the herd, and killed a buffalo or two 
before the hunters observed me. 1 brought a large number 
of letters, which proved welcome reading matter. 

In the evening we gathered around the camp-fire for the 
last time. The duty of naming the camp, which was called 
Camp Davies, having been duly performed, we all united in 
making that night the jjleasantest of all that we had spent 
together. "VVe had eloquent speeches, songs, and interesting 
anecdotes. I was called upon, and entertained the gentle- 
men with some lively Indian stories. 

The excursionists reached Fort Haj^s, distant fifteen miles, 
on the morning of October 2d, where we pitched our tents 
for the last time, and named the camp in honor of Mr. 
Hecksher. That same afternoon General Sheridan and his 
guests took the train for the East, after bidding Major 
Browa, Lieutenant Hayes and myself a hearty good-bye, 
and expressing themselves as greatly pleased with their 
hunt, and the manner in which they had been escorted and 
guided. 

It will be proper and fair to state here that General 
Davies afterwards wrote an interesting account of this hunt 
and published it in a neat volume of sixty -eight pages, under 
the title of "Ten Days on the Plains." I would have in- 
serted the volume bodily in tlris book, were it not for the 
fact that the General has spoken in a rather too compli- 



290 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

mentary manner of me. However, I have taken the liberty 
in this chapter to condense from the little volume, and in 
some places I have used the identical language of General 
Davies without quoting the same ; in fact, to do the Gen- 
eral justice, I ought to close this chapter with several lines 
of quotation marks to be jDrettj generally distributed by the 
reader throughout my account of our ten days' hunt. 

Soon after the departure of General Sheridan's party, we 
returned to Fort McPherson and found General Carr about to 
start out on a twenty days' scout, not so much for the purpose 
of finding Indians, but more for the object of taking some 
friends on a hunt. His guests were a couple of Englishmen, 
— whose names I cannot now remember — and Mr. Mc- 
Carthy, of Syracuse, l^ew York, who was a relative of Gen- 
eral Emory, The command consisted of three companies of 
the Fifth Cavalry, one company of Pawnee Indians, and 
twenty-five wagons. Of course I was called on to accompany 
the expedition. 

One day, after we had been out from the post for some 
little time, I was hunting on Deer Creek, in company with 
Mr. McCarthy, about eight miles from the command. I had 
been wishing for several days to play a joke on him, and 
liad arranged a plan with Captain Lute North to carry it 
into execution. I had informed ISTorth at about what time 
we would be on Deer Creek, and it was agreed that he 
should appear in the vicinity with some of his Pawnees, who 
were to throw their blankets around them, and come dashing 
down upon ns, firing and whooping in true Indian style ; 
while he was to either conceal or disguise himself. This 
programme was faithfully and completely carried out. I had 
been talking about Indians to McCarthy, and he had become 
considerably excited, when just as we turned a bend of the 
creek, we saw not half a mile from us about twenty Indians, 
who instantly started for us on a gallop, firing their guns 
and yelling at the top of their voices. 

" McCarthy, shall we dismount and fight, or run ? " said I. 



A JOKE ON McCarthy. 



291 



He didn't wait to reply, but wheeling his horse, started 
at full speed down the creek, losing his hat and dropping his 
gun ; away he went, never once looking back to see if he was 
being pursued. 1 tried to stop him by yelling at him and 
sajnng that it was all right, as the Indians were Pawnees. 
Unfortunately he did not hear me, but kept straight on, not 
stopping his horse until he reached the camp. 

I knew that he would tell General Carr that the Indians 




MCCARTHY'S FRIGHT. 



had jumped him, and that the General would soon start out 
with the troops. So as soon as the Pawnees rode up to 
me I told them to remain there while I went after my 
friend. I rode after him as fast as possible, but he had 
arrived at the command some time before me and when I 
got there the General had, as I had suspected he would do, 
ordered out two companies of cavalry to go in pursuit of the 
Indians. I told the General that the Indians were only 
some Pawnees, who had been out hunting and that they 
had merely played a joke upon us. I forgot to inform him 



292 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

that I had put np the trick, but as he was always fond of a 
good joke himself, he did not get very angrj. I had picked 
up McCarthy's hat and gun which I returned to him, and it 
was some time afterwards before he discovered who was at 
the bottom of the afiair. 

When we returned to Fort McPlierson we found there 
Mr. Royal Buck, whose father had been killed with his 
entire party by Pawnee Killer's band of Indians on the Bea- 
ver Creek. He had a letter from the commanding officer of 
the Department requesting that he be furnished with an 
escort to go in search of the remains of his father and the 
party. Two companies of cavalry w-ere sent with him and 
I accompanied them as guide. As the old squaw, which we 
had captured, and of which mention is made in a previous 
chapter, could not exactly tell us the place on Beaver Creek 
where the party had been killed, we searched the country 
over for two days and discovered no signs of the murdered 
men. At last, however, our efforts were rewarded with 
success. We found pieces of their wagons and among 
other things an old letter or two which Mr. Buck recognized 
as his father's handwriting. We then discovered some of 
the remains, which we buried ; but nothing further. It was 
now getting late in the fall and we accordingly returned to 
Fort McPlierson. 

A short time after this the Fifth Cavalry was ordered to 
Arizona, a not very desirable country to soldier in. I had 
become greatly attached to the officers of the regiment^ 
having been continually w^ith them for over three years, and 
had about made up my mind to accompany them, when a 
letter was received from General Sheridan instructing the 
commanding officer " not to take Cody " with him, and saying 
that I was to remain in my old position. In a few days the 
command left for its destination, taking the cars at MePher- 
son Station, where I bade my old friends adieu. During 
the next few weeks I had but little to do, as the post was 
garrisoned by infantry, awaiting the arrival of the Third 
Cavalry. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

HUNTIKG WITH A GRAND DUKE. 

ABOUT the iirst of Januaiy, 1872, General Forsyth and 
Dr. Asch, of Sheridan's staff came out to Fort McPher- 
son to make preparations for a big buffalo hunt for the 
Grand Duke Alexis, of Russia ; and as this was to be no 
ordinary affair, these officers had been sent by General Sheri- 
dan to have all the necessary arrangements perfected by the 
time the Grand Duke should arrive. They learned from me 
that there were plenty of buffiloes in the vicinity and espe- 
cially on the Red Willow, sixty miles distant. They said 
they would like to go over on the Red Willow and pick out a 
suitable place for the camp ; they also inquired the location 
of the Spotted Tail, Sioux Indians. Spotted Tail had per- 
mission from the Government to hunt the buffalo, with his 
people during the winter, in the Republican river country. 
It was my opinion that they were located somewhere on the 
Frenchman's Fork about one hundred and fifty miles from 
Fort McPherson. 

General Sheridan's commissioners informed me, that he 
wished me to visit Spotted Tail's camp, and induce about one 
hundred of the leading warriors and chiefs, to come to the 
point where it should be decided to locate the Alexis hunt- 
ing camp, and to be there by the time the Grand Duke 
should arrive, so that he could see a body of American 

295 



296 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

Indians and observe the manner in which they killed buf- 
faloes. The Indians would also be called upon to give a 
grand war dance in honor of the distinguished visitor. 

Next morning General Forsyth and Dr. Asch, accompa- 
nied by Captain Hays, who had been left at Fort McPher- 
son in charge of the Fifth Cavalry horses, taking an ambu- 
lance and a light wagon, to carry their tents, and provisions 
sufficient to last them two or three days ; started, under my 
guidance, with a small escort, for Ked "Willow Creek, arriv- 
ing there at night. The next day we selected a pleasant 
camping place on a little knoll in the valley of the Ked Wil- 
low. General Forsyth and his party returned to the post 
the next day while I left for Spotted Tail's camp. 

The weather was very cold and I found my journey by 
no means a pleasant one as I was obliged to camp out with 
only m}^ saddle blankets ; and besides, there was more or 
less danger from the Indians themselves ; for, although Spot- 
ted Tail himself was friendly, I was afraid I might have dif- 
ficult}'^ in getting into his camp. I was liable at any moment 
to run into a party of his young men who might be out hunt- 
ing, and as I had many enemies among the Sioux, I would 
be running considerable risk in meeting them. 

At the end of the first day I camped on Stinking Water, 
a tributary of the Frenchman's Fork, where I built a little 
fire in the timber; but it was so very cold I was not able 
to sleep much. Getting an early start in the morning I fol- 
lowed np the Frenchman's Fork and late in the afternoon I 
could see, from the fresh horse tracks and from the dead 
buffaloes lying here and there, recently killed, that I was near- 
ing Spotted Tail's camp. I rode on for a few miles further, 
and then hiding my horse in a low ravine, I crawled up a 
high hill, where I obtained a good view of the country. I 
could see for four or five miles up the creek, and got sight 
of a village and of two or three hundred ponies in its 
vicinity. I waited until night came and then I succeeded in 
riding into the Indian camp unobserved. 



A NIGHT VISIT TO AN INDIAN CAMP. 



297 



I had 6eeii Spotted Tail's camp when he came from the 
north and I knew the kind of lodge he was living in. As I 
entei'ed the village I wrapped a blanket around my head so 
that the Indians could not tell whether I M-as a M'hite or a 
red man. In this way I rode around until I found Spotted 
Tail's lodge. Dismounting from my horse 1 opened his 
tent door and looked in and saw the old chief lying on some 
robes. I spoke to him and he recognized me at once and 
invited me to enter. Inside the lodge I found a white 
man, an old frontiersman, Todd Randall, who was Spotted 




SPOTTED TAIL. 



Tail's agent and who had lived a great many years with the 
Indians. He understood their language perfectly and did all 
the interpreting for Spotted Tail. Through him I readily 
communicated with the chief and informed him of my 
errand. I told him that the warriors and chiefs would 
greatly please General Sheridan if they would meet him in 
about ten sleeps at the old Government crossing of the Red 
"Willow. I further informed him that there was a great 
chief from across the water who was coming there to visit him. 



298 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

Spotted Tail replied that lie would be verj glad to go ; 
that the next morning he would call his people together and 
select those who would accompany him. I told Spotted 
Tail how I had entered his camp. lie replied that I had 
acted wisel}' ; that although his people were friendly, yet 
some of his young men had a grudge against me, and I 
might have had difficulty with them liad I met them away 
from the village. He directed his squaw to get me some- 
thing to eat, and ordered that my horse be taken care of, 
and upon his invitation I spent the remainder of the night 
in his lodge. 

Next morning the chiefs and warriors assembled according 
to orders, and to them was stated the object of my visit. 
They were asked : 

" Do you know who this man is ? " 

"Yes, we know him well," replied one, "that is Pa-he- 
haska," (that being my name among the Sioux, which trans- 
lated means "Long Hair") "that is our old enemy," a 
great many of the Indians, who were with Spotted Tail at 
this time, had been driven out of the Kepublican country. 

"That is he," said Spotted Tail. " I want all my people 
to be kind to him and treat him as my friend." 

I noticed that several of them M'ere looking daggers at me. 
They appeared as if tliey wished to raise my hair then 
and there. Spotted Tail motioned and I followed him into 
his lodge, and thereupon the Indians dispersed. Having the 
assurance of Spotted Tail that none of the young men would 
follow me I started back for the Eed Willow, arriving the 
second night. 

There I found Captain Egan with a company of the Sec- 
ond Cavalry and a wagon train loaded with tents, grain, 
provisions, etc. The men M-ere leveling oH' the ground and 
were making preparations to put u]) large wall tents for the 
Grand Duke Alexis and his suite, and for General Sheridan, 
his staff and other officers, and invited guests of the party. 
Proceeding to Fort McPherson I reported what had been 



ARRIVAL OF THE GRAND DUKE ALEXIS. 



299 



done. Thereupon Qiiartennaster Ilajs selected from the 
five or six hundred horses in his charge, seventy -five of the 
very best, which were sent to the Red Willow, to be used by 
Alexis and his party at the coming hunt. In a day or two 
a large supply of provisions, liquors, etc., arrived from Chi- 
cago, together with bedding and furniture for the tents; 
all of which were sent over to Camp Alexis. 

At last, on the 
morning of the 
12th o f January, 
1872, the Grand 
Duke and party 
arrived a t North 
Platte b y special 
train ; in charge of 
a Mr. Francis 
Thompson. C a p- 
tain Hays and 
myself, with fi\ o 
or six ambulance^, 
fifteen o r twent} 
extra saddle-horse^ 
and a company o1 
cavalry under 
Captain Egan, were 
at the depot in time to receive them. Presently General 
Sheridan and a large, fine-looking young man, whom we at 
once concluded to be the Grand Duke came out of the cars 
and approached us. General Slieridan at once introduced me 
to the Grand Duke as Bufialo Bill, for he it was, and said 
that I was to take charge of him and show him how to kill 
buffalo. 

In less than half an hour the whole party were dashing 
away towards the south, across the South Platte and towards 
the Medicine ; upon reaching which point we halted for a 
change of horses and a lunch. Resuming our ride we reached 




GRAND DUKE AI.KXIS. 



300 



LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 



Camp Alexis in the afternoon. General Sheridan was 
well pleased with the arrangements that had been made and 
was delighted to find that Spotted Tail and his Indians had 
arrived on time. They were objects of great curiosity to the 
Grand Duke, who spent considerable time in looking at them, 
and watching their exhibitions of horsemanship, sham lights, 
etc. That evening the Indians gave the grand war dance, 
which I had arranged for. 




INDIAN EXERCISES. 

General Custer, who was one of the hunting party, carried 
on a mild flirtation with one of Spotted Tail's daughters, 
who had accompanied her father thither, and it was noticed 
also that the Duke Alexis paid considerable attention to an- 
other handsome red-skin maiden. The night passed pleas- 
antly, and all retired with great expectations of having a 
most enjoyable and successful buffalo hunt. Tlie Duke 
Alexis asked nfe a great many questions as to how we shot 
buffaloes, and what kind of a gun or pistol we used, and if 



ALEXIS KILLS THE FIRST BUFFALO. 301 

he was going to have a good horse. I told him that he was 
to have my celebrated buffalo horse Buckskin Joe, and when 
we went into a buffalo herd all he would have to do was to 
sit on the horse's back and tire away. 

At nine o'clock next morning we were all in our saddles, 
and in a few minutes were galloping over the prairies in 
search of a buffalo herd. We had not gone far before we 
observed a herd some distance ahead of us crossing our way ; 
after that we proceeded cautiously, so as to keep out of sight 
until we were ready to make a charge. 

Of course the main thing was to give Alexis the first 
chance and the best shot at the buffaloes, and when all was 
in readiness we dashed over a little knoll that had hidden us 
from view, and in a few minutes we were among them. 
Alexis at first preferred to use his pistol instead of a gun. 
He fired six shots from this weapon at buffaloes only twenty 
feet away from him, but as he shot wildly, not one of his 
bullets took effect. Eiding up to his side and seeing that 
his weapon was empty, I exchanged pistols with him. He 
again fired six shots, without dropping a buffalo. 

Seeing that the animals were bound to make their escape 
without his killing one of them, unless he had a better 
weapon, I rode up to him, gave him my old reliable 
"Lucretia," and t<Dld him to urge his horse close to the buff- 
aloes, and I would then give him the word when to shoot. 
At the same time I gave old Buckskin Joe a blow with my 
whip, and with a few jumps the horse carried the Grand 
Duke to within about ten feet of a big buffalo bull. 

"Now is your time," said I. He fired, and down went 
the buffalo. The Grand Duke stopped his horse, dropped 
his gun on the ground, and commenced waving his hat. 
When his suite came galloping up, he began talking to them 
in a tongue which I could not understand. Presently Gen- 
eral Sheridan joined the group, and the ambulances were 
brought up. Yery soon the corks began to fly from the 
champagne bottles, in honor of the Grand Duke Alexis, who 
had killed the first buffalo. 



302 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

It was reported in a great many of the newspapers that I 
shot the first buffalo for Alexis, while in some it was stated 
that I held the buffalo while His Royal Highness killed it. 
But the way I have related the affair is the correct version. 

It was thought that we had had about sport enough for 
one day, and accordingly I was directed by General Sheridan 
to guide the party back to camp, and we were soon on our 
way thither. Several of the party, however, concluded to 
have a little hunt on their own account, and presently we 
saw them galloping over the prairie in different directions 
in pursuit of buffaloes. 

While we were crossing a deep ravine, on our way to 
camp, we ran into a small band of buffaloes that had been 
frightened by some of the hunters. As they rushed past 
ns, not more than thirty yards distant, Alexis raised his 
pistol, fired and killed a buffalo cow. It was either an 
extraordinarly good shot or a " scratch " — probably the lat- 
ter, for it surprised the Grand Duke as well as everybody 
else. We gave him three cheers, and when the ambulance 
came up we took a pull at the champagne in honor of the 
Grand Duke's success. I was in hopes that he would kill 
fi[ve or six more buffaloes before we reached camp, especially 
if a basket of champagne was to be opened every time he 
dropped one. 

General Sheridan directed me to take care of the hides 
and heads of the buffaloes which Alexis had killed, as the 
Duke wished to keep them as souvenirs of the hunt. I also 
cut out the choice meat from the cow and brought it into 
camp, and that night at supper Alexis had the pleasure of 
dining on broiled buffalo steak obtained from the animal 
which he had shot himself. 

We remained at this camp two or three days, during 
which we hunted most of the time, the Grand Duke himself 
killino' eifirht buffaloes. 

One day Alexis desired to see how the Indians hunted 
buffaloes and killed them with bow and arrow ; so Spotted 



THE END OF THE GREAT HUNT. 



303 



Tail, selecting some of his best hunters, had them surround 
a herd, and bring the animals down, not only with arrows, 
but with lances. The Grand Duke was told to follow upon 
the heels of one celebrated Indian hunter, Avliose name 
was '* Two Lance," and watch him bring down the game ; 
for this chief had the reputation of being able to send an. 
arrow through and through the bodj^ of a buffalo. Upon 
this occasion, he did not belie his reputation, for he sent an. 




TWO LANCE KILLING A BUFFALO. 

arrow through a buffalo, which fell dead at the shot, and the 
arrow was given to Alexis as a souvenir of his hunt on the 
American Plains. 

When the Grand Duke was satisfied with the sport, orders 
were given for the return to the railroad. The conveyance 
pro^'ided for the Grand Duke and General Sheridan was a 
hea '■ double-seated open carriage, or rather an Irish dog- 
cart, id it was drawn by four spirited cavalry horses which 



30-i LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

were not miicli used to the harness. The driver was Bill 
Keed, an old overland stage driver and wagon master ; on 
our way in, the Grand Diike frequently expressed his ad- 
miration of the skillful manner in which Reed handled the 
reins. 

General Sheridan informed the Duke that I also had been 
a stage-driver in the Rocky Mountains, and thereupon His 
Royal Highness expressed a desire to see me drive. I was 
in advance at the time, and General Sheridan sang out 
to me: 

" Cody, get in here and show the Duke how you can 
drive. Mr. Reed will exchange places with you and ride 
your horse." 

"All right. General," said I, and in a few moments I had 
the reins and we were rattling away over the pi'airie. When, 
we were approaching Medicine Creek, General Sheridan 
said : " Shake 'em up a little, Bill, and give us some old- 
time stage-driving." 

I gave the horses a crack or two of the whip, and they 
started off at a very rapid gait. They had a light load to- 
pull, and kept increasing their speed at every jump, and I 
found it difficult to hold them. They fliirly flew over the 
ground, and at last we reached a steep hill, or divide, which 
led down into the valley of the Medicine. There was no 
brake on the wagon, and the horses were not much on the 
hold-back. I saw that it would be impossible to stop thera» 
All I could do was to keep them straight in the track and 
let them go it down the hill, for three miles ; which dis- 
tance, I believe, was made in about six minutes. Every 
once in a while the hind wheels would strike a rut and take 
a bound, and not tonch the ground again for fifteen or 
twenty feet. The Duke and the General were kept rather 
busy in holding their positions on the seats, and when they 
saw that I was keeping the horses straight in the road, they 
seemed to enjoy the dash which we were making. I was 
unable to stop the team until they ran into the camp where 



A ROYAL INVITATION. 305 

we were to obtain a fresh relay, and tliere I succeeded in 
checking them. The Grand Duke said he didn't want any 
more of that kind of driving, as he preferred to go a little 
slower. 

On arriving at the railroad, the Duke invited me into his 
car, and made me some vahiable presents, at the same time 
giving me a cordial invitation to visit him, if ever I should 
come to his country. 

General Sheridan took occasion to remind me of an invita- 
tion to visit New York which I had received from some of 
the gentlemen who accompanied the General on the hunt 
from Fort McPherson to Hays Citj^, in September of the 
previous year. Said he : 

".You will never have a better opportunity to accept that 
invitation than now. I have had a talk with General Ord 
concerning you, and he will give j'OU a leave of absence 
whenever you are ready to start. Write a letter to General 
Stager, of Chicago, that you are now prepared to accept the 
invitation, and he will send you a pass." 

Thanking the General for his kindness, I then bade him 
and the Grand Duke good-bye, and soon their train was out 
of sight. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 



SIGHT-SEEING. 



aENEKAL OED, commanding the Department of the 
Platte at the time, and who had been out on the Alexis 
hunt, had some business to attend to at Fort McPherson, 
and I accepted his invitation to ride over to the post with 
him in an ambulance. On the way thither he asked me 
how I would like to have an officer's commission in the reg- 
ular army. He said that General Sheridan and himself had 
had some conversation about the matter, and if I wanted a 
commission, one could easily be procured for me. I thanked 
General Ord for his kindness, and said that although an 
officer's commission in the regular army was a tempting 
prize, yet I preferred to remain in the position I was then 
holding. He concluded by stating that if at any time I 
should wish a commission, all that I would have to do to 
secure it would be to inform him of my desire. 

Having determined to visit New York, I acted upon Gen- 
eral Sheridan's suggestion and wrote to General Stager, 
from whom in a few days I received my railroad passes. 
Obtaining thirty days' leave of absence from the depart- 
ment, I struck out for the East. On arriving in Chicago, in 
February, 18Y2, I was met at the depot by Colonel M, V. 
Sheridan, who said that his brother, the General, had not 
yet returned, but had sent word that I was to be his and the 

306 



IN CHICAGO. 



307 



Colonel's guest, at their house, while I remained in Chicago. 
I spent two or three days very pleasantly in tlie great city 
of the West, meeting several of the gentlemen who had been 
out on the Sheridan hunt in September — General Stager, 
Colonel AYilson, editor of the Journal / Mr. Sam Johnson, 
General Rucker and others — by all of whom I was most cor- 




AN EMBAUk VSSI^O blTUAflON 

dially received and well entertained. I was introduced to 
quite a number of the best people of the city, and was 
invited to several "swell" dinners. I also accompanied 
General Sheridan — who meantime had returned to the city 
— to a ball at Riverside — an aristocratic suburb. On this 
occasion I became so embarrassed that it was more difficult 
for me to face the throng of beautiful ladies, than it would 
have been to confront a hundred hostile Indians. This was 



/ 



308 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

ray first trip to the East, and I had not jet become accus- 
tomed to being stared at. And besides this, the hundreds of 
questions which I was called upon to answer further embar- 
rassed and perplexed me. 

According to the route laid out for me by General Stager, 
I was to stop at Niagara Falls, Buffalo and Hoehester on my 
way to New York, and he provided me with all the neces- 
sary railroad passes. Just as I was about to leave Chicago 
I met Professor Henry A. Ward, of Eochester, for whom 
during the previous year or two I had collected a large num- 
ber of specimens of wild animals. He was on his way to 
Rochester, and kindly volunteered to act as my guide until 
we reached that point. We spent one day in viewing the 
wonders of Niagara, and I stopped one day at Rochester and 
was shown the beauties of that handsome city by Professor 
Ward, and I had the honor of receiving an invitation to dine 
with the Mayor. 

On arriving at New York I was met at the depot by Mr. 
J. G. Hecksher, who had been appointed as " a committee 
of one" to escort me to the Union Club, where James Gor- 
don Bennett, Leonard W. Jerome and others were to give 
me an informal reception, and where I was to make my 
headquarters during my visit in the great metropolis. I 
had an elegant dinner at the club rooms, with the gentle- 
men who had been out on the September hunt, and other 
members of the club. 

After dinner, in company with Mr. Hecksher — who acted 
as my guide — I started out on the trail of m}'^ friend, Ned 
Buntline, whom we found at the Brevoort Place Hotel. 
He was delighted to see me, and insisted on my becoming 
his guest. He would listen to no excuses, and on introducing 
me to Messrs. Overton & Blair, proprietors of the Brevoort, 
they also gave me a pressing invitation to make my home 
at their house. I finally compromised the matter by agree- 
ing to divide my time between the Union Club, the Bre- 
voort House, and Ned Buntline's quarters. 



DOING NEW YORK. 309 

■ The next few days I spent in viewing the sights of New 
York, everything being new and startling, convincing me 
that as yet I had seen but a small portion of the world. 
I received numerous dinner invitations, as well as invita- 
tions to visit different places of amusement and interest; 
but as they came in so thick and fast, I soon became 
badly demoralized and confused. I found I had accepted 
invitations to dine at half a dozen or more houses on the 
same day and at the same hour. James Gordon Bennett 
had prepared a dinner for me, at which quite a large num- 
ber of his friends were to be present, but owing to my 
confusion, arising from the many other invitations I had 
received, I forgot all about it, and dined elsewhere. This 
was "a bad break," but I did not learn of my mistake until 
next day, when at the Union Club House several gentlemen, 
among them Lawrence Jerome, inquired " where in the 
world I had been," and why I had not put in an appearance 
at Bennett's dinner. They said that Bennett had taken 
great pains to give me a splendid reception, that the party 
had waited till nine o'clock for me, and that my non-arrival 
caused considerable disappointment. I apologized as well 
as I could, by saying that I had been out on a scout and had 
got lost, and had forgotten all about the dinner ; and ex- 
pressed my regret for the disappointment I had created by 
my forgetfulness. August Belmont, the banker, being near 
said: 

"Never mind, gentlemen, I'll give Cody a dinner at my 
house." 

'• Thank you, sir," said I ; " I see you are determined that 
I shall not run short of rations while I am in the city. I'll 
be there, sure." 

Both Mr. Jerome and Mr. Ileckslier told me that I must 
not disappoint Mr. Belmont, for his dinners were splendid 
affairs. I made a note of the date, and at the appointed 
time I was promptly at Mr. Belmont's mansion, where I spent 
a very enjoyable evening. 

Mr. Bennett, who was among the guests, having forgiven 



310 ' LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

my carelessness, invited me to accompany him to the 
Liederkranz masked ball, which was to take place in a few 
evenings, and would be a grand spectacle. Together we 
''attended tlie ball, and during the evening I was well enter- 
tained. The dancers kept on their masks nntil midnight, 
and the merry and motley throng presented a brilliant scene, 
moving gracefully beneath the bright gas-light to the inspirit- 
ing music. To me it was a novel and entertaining sight, 
and in many respects reminded me greatly of an Indian 
■war-dance. 

- Acting upon the suggestion of Mr. Bennett, I had dressed 
myself in my buckskin suit, and I naturally attracted con- 
siderable attention ; especially when I took part in the danc- 
ing and exhibited some of my backwoods steps, which, 
although not as graceful as some, were a great deal more 
emphatic. But when I undertook to do artistic dancing, I 
found I was decidedly out of place in that crowd, and I 
accordingly withdrew from the floor. 

I occasionally passed an evening at Niblo's Garden, view- 
ing the many beauties of " The Black Crook," which was 
then having its long run, under the management of Jarrett 
& Palmer, whose acquaintance I had made, and who ex- 
tended to me the freedom of the theater. 

l^ed Buntline and Fred Maeder had dramatized one of the 
stories which the former had written about me for the JVew 
York WeeUy. The drama was called "Buffalo Bill, the 
King of Border Men." While I was in New York it was 
produced at the Bowery Theater ; J. B. Studley, an excel- 
lent actor, appearing in the character of " Buffalo Bill,'' and 
Mrs. W. G. Jones, a fine actress, taking the part of my 
sister, a leading role. I was curious to see how I would look 
when represented by some one else, and of course 1 was 
present on the opening night, a private box having been 
reserved for me. The theater was packed, every seat 
being occupied as well as the standing-room. The drama 
was played smoothly, and created a great deal of enthusiasm- 



FACING AN AUDIENCE. 311 

The audience, upon Icarnini^ that the real " Buffalo Bill " 
was pretent, gave several cheers between the acts, and 
I was called on to come out on the stage and make a speech. 
Mr. Freleigh, the manager, insisted that I should comply 
with the request, and that I should be introduced to Mr. 
Studley. I linally consented, and the next moment I found 
myself standing behind the footlights and in front of an. 
audience for the first time in my life. I looked up, then 
down, then on each side, and everywhere I saw a sea of 
human faces, and thousands of eyes all staring at me. I 
confess that I felt very much embarrassed — never more so 
in my life — and I knew not what to say. I made a des- 
perate effort, and a few words escaped me, but what they 
were I could not for the life of me tell, nor could any one 
else in the house. My utterances were inaudible even to 
the leader of the orchestra, Mr. Dean, who was sitting only 
a few feet in front of me. Bowing to the audience, I heat 
a hasty retreat into one of the canons of the stage. I never 
felt more relieved in my life than when I got out of the 
view of that immense crowd. 

That evening Mr. Freleigh offered to give me five hundred 
dollars a week to play the part of " Buffalo Bill " myself. 
I thought that he was certainly joking, especially as he had 
witnessed my awkward performance ; but when he assured 
me that he was in earnest, I told him that it would be use- 
less for me to attempt anything of the kind, for I never 
could talk to a crowd of people like that, even if it was to 
save my neck, and that he might as well try to make an 
actor out of a government mule. 1 thanked him for the 
generous offer, which I had to decline owing to a lack of 
confidence in myself; or as some people might express it, I 
didn't have the requisite cheek to undertake a thing of that 
sort. The play of "Buffalo BilP' had a very sncitessful 
run of six or eight weeks, and was afterwards produced in 
all the principal cities of the country, everywhere being 
received with genuine enthusiasm. 



312 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

I had been in New York about twenty days when General 
Sheridan arrived in the city. I met him soon after he got 
into town. In answer to a question how I was enjoying 
myself, I replied that 1 had struck the best camp I had ever 
seen, and if he didn't have any objections I would like to 
have my leave of absence extended about ten days. This 
he willingly did, and then informed me that my services 
would soon be required at Fort McPherson, as there was to 
be an expedition sent out from that point. 

At Westchester, Pennsylvania, I had some relatives living 
•whom I had never seen, and now being so near, I deter- 
mined to make them a visit. Upon mentioning the matter 
to Buntline, he suggested that we should together take a 
trip to Philadelphia, and thence run out to Westchester. 
Accordingly the next day found us in the " City of Brotherly 
Love," and in a few hours we arrived at the home of my 
nncle, General Henry R. Guss, the proprietor of the Green 
Tree Hotel, who gave us a cordial reception. 

Inviting us into the parlor, my uncle brought in the mem- 
bers of his family, among them an elderly lady, who was 
my grandmother, as he informed me. He told me that my 
Aunt Eliza, his first wife, was dead, and that he had married 
a second time ; Lizzie Guss, my cousin, I thought was the 
most beautiful girl I had ever seen. They were all very 
anxious to have us remain several days, but as I had some 
business to attend to in Ne-w York, I was obliged to return 
that day. Assuring them, however, that I would visit them 
again soon, I bade them adieu, and with Buntline took the 
train for New York. 

The time soon arrived for my departure for the West ; 
so packing up my traps I started for home, and on the way 
thither I spent a day with my Westchester relatives, who 
did everything in their power to entertain me during my 
brief stay with them. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 



HONORS. 



UPON reaching Fort McPherson, I found that the Third 
Cavaby, commanded by General Reynolds, had arrived 
from Arizona, in whicli Territory they had been on duty for 
some time, and wiiere they had acquired quite a reputation 
on account of their Indian lighting quaUties. 

Shortly after ray return, a small party of Indians made a 
dash on McPherson Station, about live miles from the fort, 
killing two or three men and running off quite a large num- 
ber of horses. Captain Meinhold and Lieutenant Lawson 
with their company were ordered out to pursue and punish 
the Indians if possible. I was the guide of the expedition 
and had as an assistant T. B. Omohundro, better known as 
" Texas Jack" and who was a scout at the post. 

Finding the trail, I followed it for two days, although it 
was difficult trailing because the red-skins had taken every 
possible precaution to conceal their tracks. On the second 
day Captain Meinhold went into camp on the South Fork of 
the Loupe, at a point where the trail was badly scattered. Six 
men were detailed to accompany me on a scout in search of 
the camp of the fugitives. We had gone but a short dis- 
tance when we discovered Indians camped, not more than a 
mile away, with horses grazing near by. They were only a 
small party, and I determined to charge upon them with my 

313 



31-i LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

six men, rather than return to the command, because I feared 
they would see us as we went back and then they would get 
away from us entirely. I asked the men if they were willing 
to attempt it, and they replied that they would follow me 
wherever I would lead them. That was the kind of spirit 
that pleased me, and we immediately moved forward on the 
enemy, getting as close to them as possible without being 
seen. 

I finally gave the signal to charge, and we dashed into the 
little camp with a yell. Five Indians sprang out of a wil- 
low tepee, and greeted us with a volley, and we returned 
the fire. I was riding Buckskin Joe, who with a few jumps 
brought me up to the tepee, followed by my men. "We 
nearly ran over the Indians who were endeavoring to reach 
their horses on the opposite side of the creek. Just as one 
was jumping the narrow stream a bullet from my old 
"Lucretia" overtook him. He never reached the other 
bank, but dropped dead in the water. Those of the Indians 
who were guarding the horses, seeing what was going on 
at the camp, came rushing to the rescue of their friends. I 
now counted thirteen braves, but as we had already dis- 
posed of two, we had only eleven to take care of. The odds 
were nearly two to one against us. 

While the Indian reinforcements were approaching the 
camp I jumped the creek with Buckskin Joe to meet them, 
expecting our party would follow me ; but as they could not 
induce their horses to make the leap, I was the only one who 
got over. I ordered the sergeant to dismount his men, and 
leaving one to hold the horses, to come over with the rest 
and help me drive the Indians off. Before they could do 
this, two mounted warriors closed in on me and were shoot- 
ing at short range. I returned their fire and had the satis- 
faction of seeing one of them fall from his horse. At this 
moment I felt blood trickling down ray forehead, and hastily 
running my hand through my hair I discovered that I had 
received a scalp wound. The Indian, who had shot me. 



A HARD FIGHT WITH INDIANS. 315 

was not more than ten yards away, and when he saw his 
jtartner tumble from his saddle, he turned to run. 

By this time the soldiers had crossed the creek to assist 
me, and were blazing away at the other Indians. Urging 
Buckskin Joe forward, I was soon alongside of the chap 
who had wounded me, when raising myself in the stirrups I 
shot him through the head. 

The reports of our guns had been heard by Captain Mein- 
hold, who at once started with his company up the creek to 
our aid, and when the remaining Indians, whom we were still 
fighting, saw these reinforcements coming they whirled their 
horses and fled ; as their steeds were quite fresh they 
made their escape. However, we killed six out of the thir- 
teen Indians, and captured most of their stolen stock. Our 
loss was one man killed, and one man — myself — slightly 
wounded. One of our horses was killed, and Buckskin 
Joe was wounded, but I didn't discover the fact until some 
time afterwards as he had been shot in the breast and showed 
no signs of having received a scratch of any kind. Securing 
the scalps of the dead Indians and other trophies we 
returned to the fort. 

I made several other scouts during the summer with dif- 
ferent officers of the Third Cavalry, one being with Major 
Alick Moore, a good officer, M'ith whom I was out for thirty 
days. Another long one was with Major Curtis, with whom 
I followed some Indians from the South Platte river to Fort 
Randall on the Missouri river in Dakota, on which trip the 
command ran out pf rations and for fifteen days subsisted 
entirely upon the game we killed. 

In the fall of 1872 the Earl of Dunraven and Dr. Kings- 
ley with several friends came to Fort McPherson with n let- 
ter from General Sheridan, asking me to accompany them 
on an elk hunt. I did so, and I afterwards spent several 
weeks in hunting with the Earl of Dunraven, who was a 
thorough sportsman and an excellent hunter. It was while 
I was out'with the Earl, that a Chicago party — friends of 



316 



LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 



General Sheridan — arrived at Fort McPlierson for the pur- 
pose of going out on a hunt. Thej, too, had a letter from 
the General requesting nie to go with them. The Earl 
had not yet finished his hunt, but as I had been out with 
him for several weeks, and he had by this time learned 
where to lind plenty of elks and other game, I concluded to 
leave him and accompany the Chicago party. I informed 

him of my inten- 
tion and gave him 
my reasons for 
going, at the same 
time telling him 
tliat I would send 
him one of my 
scouts, Texas Jack, 
who was a good 
hunter, and would 
be glad t o accom- 
])any him. The 
Earl seemed to be 
somewhat ofiended 
it this, and I don't 
tbink he has ever 
forgiven me for 
''going back on 
him." Let that be 
as it may, he found 
Texas Jack a splendid hunter and guide, and Jack has been 
his guide on several hunts since. 

Among the gentlemen who composed the Chicago party 
were E. P. Green, — son-in-law^ of Eemington, the rifle manu- 
facturer, — Alexander Sample, Mr. Milligan, of the firm of 
Heath & Milligan, of Chicago, and several others, whose 
names I do not now remember. Mr. Milligan was a man 
full of life, and was continually "boiling over with fun." 
He was a regular velocipede, so to speak, and was here. 




iKAAS JAl 



A HUNT WITH MILLIGAN. 317 

there, and everywhere. lie was exceedingly desirous of 
having an Indian fight on the trip, not that he was naturally 
a blood-thirsty man but just for variety he wanted a little 
" Indian pie." He was in every respect the life of the party, 
during the entire time that we were out. One day while he 
was hunting with Sample and myself we came in sight of a 
band of thirty mounted Indians. 

"Millio-an, here's what you've been wanting for some 
time," said 1, " for yonder is a war party of Indians and no 
mistake ; and they'll come for us, you bet." 

"I don't believe this is one of my fighting days," replied 
Milligan, " and it occurs to me that I have urgent business 
at the camp." 

Our camp was five or six miles distant on the Dismal 
river, and our escort consisted of a company of cavalry com- 
manded by Captain Russelh The soldiers were in camp, 
and Milligan thought that Captain Russell ought to be at 
once notified of the appearance of these Indians. Knowing 
that we could reach the camp in safety, for we were well 
mounted, I continued to have considerable amusement at 
Milligan's expense, who finally said : 

" Cody, what's making my hat raise up so. I can hardly 
keep it on my head." 

Sample, who was as cool as a cucumber, said to Milligan : 
" There must be something Avrong with your hair. It must 
be trying to get on end." 

" It's all very fine for you fellows to stand here and talk," 
replied Milligan, " but I am not doing justice to my family 
by remaining. Sample, I think we are a couple of old fools 
to have come out here, and I never would have done so if it 
had not been for you." 

By this time the Indians had discovered us and were hold- 
ing a consultation, and Milligan turned his horse in the 
direction of the camp. I never believed that he was half as 
scared as he seemed to be, but that he was merely pretend- 
ing so that we could enjoy our joke. However, we did not 



318 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

wait any longer but rode into camp and notified Captain 
Kussellj who immediately started with bis company to pur- 
sue the band. 

While we were riding along with the company Milligan 
said to Sample : "Now, Alick, let them come on. "We may 
yet go back to Chicago covered with glory." 

We struck the trail going north, but as we had not come 
out on a scout for Indians, we concluded not to follow them ; 
although Milligan was now very anxious to proceed and 
clean them out. 

The hunt came to an end in a day or two, and we escorted 
the visiting hunters to North Platte, where they took the 
train for Chicago. Before their departure they extended to 
me a very cordial invitation to come to their city on a visit, 
promising that I should be well taken care of. 

Soon after this I had the pleasure of guiding a party of 
gentlemen from Omaha on a buffalo hunt. Among the 
number were Judge Dundy, Colonel Watson B. Smith, and 
U. S. District Attorney Neville. We left Fort McPherson 
in good trim. I was greatly amused at the " style " of Mr. 
Neville, who wore a stove-pipe hat and a swallow-tail coat, 
which made up a ver}^ comical rig for a butialo hunter. As 
we galloped over the prairie, he jammed his hat down over 
his ears to keep it from being shaken off his head, and in 
order to stick to his horse, he clung to the pommel of his 
saddle. He was not much of a rider, and he went bouncing 
up and down, with his swallow-tails flopping in the air. The 
sight I shall never forget, for it M-as enough to make a 
"horse laugh," and I actually believe old Buckskin Joe did 
laugh. 

However, we had a splendid hunt, and on the second day 
I lariated, or roped, a big buffalo bull and tied him to a tree, 
— a feat which I had often performed, and which the gentle- 
men requested me to do on this occasion for their benefit, 
as they had heard of my skill with the lariat. I captured 
several other buffaloes in the same way. The gentlemen 
returned to Omaha well pleased with their hunt. 



ELECTED TO THE NEBRASKA LEGISLATURE. 



319 



In the fall of the year, 18T2, a convention was held at 
Grand Island, when some of mj friends made me their can- 
didate to represent the Twenty-sixth District in the legisla- 
ture of J^ebraska ; but as I had always been a Democrat and 
the State was largely Republican, I had no idea of being 
elected. In fact I cared very little about it, and therefore 
made no effort whatever to secure an election. However, I 
was elected and that is the way in which I acquired my title 
of Honorable. 




19 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 



AN ACTOK. 



DURING the summer and fall of 1872, 1 received numer- 
ous letters from ISTed Buntline, urging me to come East 
and go upon the stage to represent my own character. 
" There's money in it," he wrote, " and you will prove a big 
card, as your character is a novelty on the stage." 

At times I almost determined to make the venture ; but 
the recollection of that night when I stood on the stage 
of the Bowery Theatre and was unable to utter a word 
above a whisper, would cause me to stop and think and be- 
come irresolute. I feared that I would be a total failure, 
and wrote Buntline to that effect. But he insisted that I 
would soon get over all that embarrassment, and become ac- 
customed to the stage, so that I would think no more of 
appearing before five thousand people than I would before 
half a dozen. He proposed to organize a good company, 
and wished me to meet him in Chicago, where the opening 
performance would be given. 

I remained undecided as to what X» ought to do. The 
oflScers at the fort as well as my family and friends to whom 
I had mentioned the matter, laughed at the idea of my ever 
becoming an actor. That I, an old scout who had never 
seen more than twenty or thirty theatrical performances in 
my life, should think of going upon the stage, was ridiculous 
in the extreme — so they all said. 

320 



DECIDING TO GO ON THE STAGE. 321 

A few days after my election to the legislature a happy 
event occurred in my family circle, in the birth of a daughter 
whom we named Ora ; about the same time I received 
another letter from Buntline, in which he requested me to 
appear on the stage for a few months as an experiment ; and 
he said that if I made a failure or did not like the business, 
I could easily return to ray old life. 

My two sisters who had been living with us had married, 
— Nellie, to A. C. Jester, a cattle man, and May, to Ed, Brad- 
ford, a railroad engineer — and consequently left us; and my 
wife had been wishing for a long time to visit her parents in 
St. Louis. Taking these and other things into consideration 
I finally resolved to resign my seat in the legislature and try 
my luck behind the footlights. I informed General Rey- 
nolds of my determination, telling him at the same time that 
at the end of the month, ^N'ovember, I would resign my 
position under him. The General regretted to hear this, 
and adviseU me not to take the step, for I was leaving a com- 
fortable little home, where I was sure of making a good liv- 
ing for my famil}^ ; while, on the other hand, I was embark- 
ing upon a sea of uncertainty. Having once made up my 
mind, however, nothing could change it. 

While I was selling my horses and other effects, prepara- 
tory to leaving the fort, one of my brother scouts, Texas 
Jack, said that he would like to accompany me. Now as 
Jack had also appeared as the hero in one of Ned Buntline's 
stories, I thought that he would make as good a " star" as 
myself, and it was accordingly arranged that Jack should go 
with me. On our way East we stopped in Omaha a day or 
two to visit General Augur and other officers, and also the 
gentlemen who were out on the Judge Dundy hunt. Judge 
Dundy and his friends gave a dinner party in my honor at 
the leading restaurant and entertained me very handsomely 
during my stay in the city. 

At Omaha I parted with my family, who went to St Louis, 
while Jack and myself proceeded to Chicago. Ned Bunt- 



322 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

line and Mr. Milligan, having been apprised of our coming 
by a telegram, met us at the depot. Mr. Milligan accom- 
panied us to the Sherman House, where he had made arrange- 
ments for us to be his guests while we remained in the city. 
I didn't see much of Buntline that evening, as he hurried 
off to deliver a temperance lecture in one of the public halls. 
The next day we met him by appointment, and the first 
thing he said, was : 

" Boys, are you ready for business ? " 

"I can't answer that," replied I, "for we don't know 
what we are going to do." 

" It's all arranged," said he, " and you'll have no trouble 
whatever. Come with me. We'll go and see Kixon, man- 
ager of the Amphitheatre. That's the place where we are 
to play. We'll open there next Monday night." Jack and 
myself accordingly accompanied him to manager Nixon's 
office without saying a word, as we didn't know what to say. 

" Here we are, Mr. Nixon," said Buntline ; " here are the 
stars for you. Here are the boys ; and they are a fine pair 
to draw too. Now, Nixon, I am prepared for business." 

Nixon and Buntline had evidently had a talk about the 
terms of our engagement. Buntline, it seems, was to fur- 
nish the company, the drama, and the pictorial printing, and 
was to receive sixty per cent, of the gross receipts for his 
share ; while Nixon was to furnish the theater, the attaches, 
the orchestra, and the local printing ; and receive forty per 
cent, of the gross receipts. 

" I am ready for you, Buntline. Have you got your com- 
pany yet?" asked Nixon. 

" No, sir ; but there are plenty of idle theatrical people in 
town, and I can raise a company in two hours," was his 
reply. 

" You haven't much time to spare, if you open on Mon- 
day night," said Nixon. " If you will allow me to look at 
your drama, to see what kind of people you want, I'll assist 
you in organizing your company." 



BUNTLINE HIRES A THEATRE. 323 

"I have not yet written the drama," said Buntline. 

" What the deuce do you mean ? This is Wednesday, and 
yon propose to open on next Monday niglit. The idea is 
ridiculous. Here you are at this hate hour without a com- 
pany and without a drama. This will never do, Buntline. 
I shall have to break my contract with you, for you can't 
possibly write a drama, cast it, and rehearse it properly for 
Monday night. Furthermore, you have no pictorial printing 
as yet. These two gentlemen, whom you have with you, 
have never been on the stage, and they certainly must have 
time to study their parts. It is preposterous to think of 
opening on Monday night, and I'll cancel the engagement." 

This little speech was delivered in rather an excited man- 
ner by Mr. Nixon. Buntline said that he would write the 
drama that day and also select his company and have them 
at the theater for rehearsal next morning. Nixon laughed 
at him, and said that there was no use of trying to undertake 
anything of the kind in so short a time — it was utterly 
impossible to do it. Buntline, whose ire was rising, said to 
Nixon : 

" What rent will you ask for your theater for next week ? " 

" Six hundred dollars," was the reply. 

" Well, sir, I'll take your theater for next week at that 
price, and here is half of the amount in advance," said Bunt- 
line, as he threw down three hundred dollars on the stand. 

Nixon took the money, gave a receipt for it, and had 
nothing more to say. 

" Now, come with me boys," said Buntline ; and away we 
went to the hotel. Buntline immediatel}^ obtained a supply 
of pens, ink and paper, and then engaged all the hotel clerks 
as penmen. In less than an hour after he had rented the 
theater, he was dashing off page after page of his proposed 
drama — the work being done in his room at the hotel. He 
then set his clerks at copying for him, and at the end of 
four hours, he jumped up from the table, and enthusiastically 
shouted : 



324 



LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 



"Hurrah for 'The Scouts of the Plains!' That's the 
name of the play. The work is done. Hurrah ! " 

The parts were then all copied off separately by the clerks, 
and handing us our respective portions IBuntline said : 

"Now, boys, go to work, and do your level best to have 
this dead-letter perfect for the rehearsal, which takes place 

to-morrow morning at ten 
o'clock, prompt. I want 
to show IN' ixon that we'll be 
ready on time." 

I looked at my part and 
then at Jack; and Jack 
looked at his part and then 
at me. Then we looked at 
each o t h e r, and then a t 
Buntline. "We did not know 
what to make of the man. 

" How long will it take 
you to commit your part to 
memory, Bill?" asked Jack. 
" About six months, a s 
near as I can calculate. 
How long will it take 
you ? " answered I. 
STUDYING THE PARTS. " It wlll takc mc about 

that length of time to learn the first line," said Jack. Never- 
theless we went to our room and commenced studying. I 
thought it was the hardest work I had ever done. 
" This is dry business," finally remarked Jack. 
" That's just what it is," I answered ; " jerk the bell. Jack." 
The bell-boy soon appeared. "VVe ordered refreshments ; 
after partaking thereof we resumed our task. We studied 
hard for an hour or two, but finally gave it up as a bad job, 
although we had succeeded in committing a small portion to 
memory. Buntline now came into the room and said : 
" Boys, how are you getting along ? " 




TAKING THE "CUE." 325 

" I guess we'll have to go back on this studying business 
as it isn't our forte^'' said I. 

" Don't weaken now, Bill ; you'll come out on the top of 
the heap yet. Let me hear you recite your part," said Bunt- 
line. 1 began " spouting " what I had learned, but was 
interrupted by Buntline : 

" Tut ! tut ! you're not saying it right. You must stop 
at the cue." 

" Cue ! What the mischief do you mean by the cue ? I 
never saw any cue except in a billiard room," said I. Bunt- 
line thereupon explained it to nie, as well as to Jack, who 
was ignorant as myself concerning the "cue " business. 

" Jack, I think we had better back out and go to hunting 
again," said I. 

" See here, boys ; it won't do to go back on me at this 
stage of the game. Stick to it, and it may be the turning 
point in your lives and lead you on to fortune and to fame." 

" A fortune is what we are after, and we'll at least give 
the wheel a turn or two and see what luck we have," said I. 
This satisfied Buntline, but we didn't study any more after 
he left us. The next morning we appeared at rehearsal and 
were introduced to the company. The first rehearsal was 
hardly a success ; and the succeeding ones were not much 
better. The stage manager did his best to teach Jack and 
myself what to do, but when Monday night came we didn't 
know much more about it than when we began. 

The clock struck seven, and then we put on our buckskin 
suits, which were the costumes we were to appear in. The 
theater was being rapidly filled, and it was evident that we 
were going to make our debut before a packed house. As 
the minutes passed b}'. Jack and I became more and more 
nervous. We occasionally looked through the holes in the 
curtain, and saw that the people were continuing to crowd 
into the theatre ; our nervousness increased to an uncom- 
fortable degree. 

When at length the curtain arose, our courage had re- 



326 



LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 



turned, so that we thought we could face the immense 
crowd ; yet when the time came for us to go on, we were 
rather slow in making our appearance. As we stepped 
forth we were received with a storm of applause, which we 
acknowledged with a bow. 

Buntline, who was taking the part of " Cale Durg," ap- 
peared, and gave me the " cue " to speak " my little piece," 
but for the life of me I could not remember a single word. 




BEHIND THE FOOTLIGHTS. 

Buntline saw I was " stuck," and a happy thought occurred 
to him. He said — as if it were in the play : 

"Where have you been. Bill ? What has kept you so long ? " 
Just then my eye happened to fall on Mr. Milligan, who 
was surrounded by his friends, tlie newspaper reporters, and 
several military oflficers, all of whom had heard of his hunt 
and "Indian fight "—he being a very popular man. and 
widely known in Chicago. So 1 said : 

"I have been out on a hunt with Milligan." 



OUR FIRST APPEARANCE, 32T 

This proved to be a big hit. The audience cheered and 
applauded ; which gave me greater confidence in my ability 
to get through the performance all right. Bontline, who i& 
a very versatile man, saw that it would be a good plan to 
follow this up, and he said : 

" Well, Bill, tell us all about the hunt." 

I thereupon proceeded to relate in detail the particulars 
of the affair. I succeeded in making it rather funny, and I 
was frequently interrupted by rounds of applause. When- 
ever I began to " weaken," Buntline would give me a fresh 
start, by asking some question. In this way I took up 
fifteen minutes, without once speaking a word of my part ; 
nor did I speak a word of it during the whole evening. 
The prompter, who was standing between the wings, at- 
tempted to prompt me, but it did no good ; for while I was 
on the stage I ''chipped in" anything I thought of. 

"The Scouts of the Plains" was an Indian drama, of 
course ; and there were between forty and fifty " supers " 
dressed as Indians. In the fight with them, Jack and I 
were at home. We blazed away at each other with blank 
cartridges ; and when the scene ended in a hand-to-hand 
encounter — a general knock-down and drag-out — the way 
Jack and I killed Indians was " a caution." We would kill 
them all off in one act, but they would come up again ready 
for business in the next. Finally the curtain dropped ; the 
play was ended ; and I congratulated Jack and myself on 
having made such a brilliant and successful debut. There 
was no backing out after that. 

The next morning there appeared in the Chicago papers 
some very funny criticisms on our first performauce. The 
papers gave us a better send-off than I expected, for they 
did not criticise us as actors. The Chicago Thnes said that 
if Buntline had actually spent four hours in writing that 
play, it was difficult for any one to see what he had been 
doing all the time. Buntline, as "Cale Durg," was killed 
in the second act, after a long temperance speech; and the 



328 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

Inter-Ocean said that it was to be regretted that he had not 
been killed in the first act. The company, however, was 
"very good, and Mdlle. Morlacchi, as " Pale Dove," particu- 
larly line; while Miss Cafarno "spouted" a poem of some 
seven hundred and three verses, more or less, of which the 
reader will be glad to know that I only recall the words 
*' I was born in March." 

Our engagement proved a decided success financially, if 
not artistically. Nixon was greatly surprised at the result, 
and at the end of the week he induced Buntline to take 
him in as a partner in the company. 

The next week we played at DeBar's Oj^era House, in St. 
Louis, doing an immense business. The following week we 
were at Cincinnati, where the theater was so crowded every 
night that hundreds were unable to obtain admission. We 
met with equal success all over the country. Theatrical 
managers, upon hearing of this new and novel combination ; 
which was drawing such tremendous houses, were all anxious 
to secure us ; and we received offers of engagements at all 
the leading theaters. We played one week at the Boston 
Theater, and the gross receipts amounted to $16,200. We 
also appeared at Niblo's Garden, IS^w York, the theater 
being crowded to its utmost capacity every night of the 
engagement. At the Arch Street Theater, Philadelphia, 
it was the same way. There was not a single city where 
we did not have crowded houses. 

We closed our tour on the 16th of June, 1873, at Port 
Jervis, New York, and when I counted up my share of the 
profits I found that I was only about $6,000 ahead. I was 
somewhat disappointed, for, judging from our large busi- 
ness, I certainly had expected a greater sum. 

Texas Jack and myself longed for a hunt on the Western 
prairies once more ; and on meeting in New York a party 
of gentlemen who were desirous of going with us, we all 
started Westward, and after a pleasant trip arrived at Fort 
McPherson. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

STARRING. 

TEXAS JACK and I spent several weeks in hunting in 
the western part of Nebraska, and at the end of our 
vacation we felt greatly re-invigorated aud«ready for another 
theatrical campaign. We accordingly proceeded to New 
York and organized a company for the season of 1873-74. 
Thinking that Wild Bill would be quite an acquisition to 
the troupe, we wrote to him at Springfield, Missouri, ofter- 
ino- him a large salary if he would play with us that winter. 
He was doing nothi^|at the time, and we thought that he 
would like to take a^*ip through the States, as he had never 
been East. 

Wild Bill accepted our offer, and came on to Xew York; 
though he told us from the start that we could never make 
an actor out of him. Although he had a fine stage appear- 
ance and was a handsome fellow, and possessed a good 
strong voice, yet when lie went upon the stage before an 
audience, it was almost impossible for him to utter a word. 
He insisted that we were making a set of fools of ourselves, 
and that we were the laughing-stock of the people. I re- 
plied that I did not care for that, as long as they came and 
bought tickets to see us. 

Wild Bill was continually playing tricks upon the mem- 
bers of the company, and it was his especial delight to tor- 

329 



330 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

ment the " supers." Quite frequently in our sham Indian 
battles he would run up to the "Indians" (the supers), and 
putting his pistol close to their legs, would fire at them and 
burn them with the powder, instead of shooting over their 
heads. This would make them dance and jump, so that it 
was difficult to make them fall and die — although they were 
paid twenty-five cents each for performing the " dying busi- 
ness." The poor "supers" often complained to me about 
this, and threatened not to go on the stage and be killed 
again if that man Wild Bill did not stop shooting and burn- 
ing their legs. I would order Wild Bill to stop his mischief; 
he would laugh and then promise not to do it any more. 
But it would not be long before he was at his old tricks 
again. 

My company, known as the " Buffalo Bill Combination," 
did a fine business, all through the East. Wild Bill con- 
tinued his pranks, wiiich caused us considerable annoyance, 
but at the same time greatly amused us. 

One day at Titusville, Pennsylvania, while Burke, the 
business agent, was registering our names and making 
arrangements for our accommodation, several of us started 
for the billiard room ; but w^ere met "by the landlord, who 
stopped me and said that there was a party of roughs from 
the lower oil region who were spreeing, and had boasted that 
the}" were staying in town to meet the Buffalo Bill gang and 
clean them out. The landlord begged of me not to allow 
the members of the troupe to enter the billiard room, as he 
did not wish any fight in his house. To please the landlord, 
and at his suggestion, I called the boys np into the pai'lor 
and explained to them the situation. Wild Bill wanted to 
go at once and fight the whole mob, but I persuaded him to 
keep away from them during the day. 

In order to entirely avoid the roughs, the members of the 
company entered the theater through a private door from 
the hotel, as the two buildings joined each other. While I 
■was standing at the door of the theater taking the tickets. 



i 



WILD BILL ON HIS MUSCLE. 331 

the landlord of the hotel came rusliing up and said that 
Wild Bill was having a light with the roughs in the bar- 
room. It seemed that Bill had not been able to resist the 
temptation of going to see what kind of a mob it was that 
wanted to test the pluck of the Buflalo Bill party ; and just 
as he stepped into the room, one of the bruisers put his hand 
on his shoulder and said : 

" Hello, Buflalo Bill ! we have been looking for you all 
day." 

" My name is not Buflalo Bill ; you are mistaken in the 
man," was the reply. 

" You are a liar ! " said the bruiser. 

Bill instantly knocked him down, and then seizing a chair 
he laid out four or five of the crowd on the floor, and drove 
the rest out of the room. All this was done in a minute or 
two, and by the time 1 got down stairs. Bill was coming out 
of the bar-room, whistling a lively tune. 

"Well!" said he, "I have been interviewing that party 
who wanted to clean us out." 

"1 thought you promised to come into the Opera House 
by the private entrance ? " 

" I did try to follow that trail, but I got lost among the 
canons, and then I ran in among the hostiles," said he ; 
"but it is all right now. They won't bother us any more. 
I guess those fellows have found us." And sure enough 
they had. We heard no more of them after that. 

Another incident occurred, one night, at Portland, Maine. 
Bill found it impossible to go to sleep at the hotel on account 
of the continued talking of some parties who were engaged 
in a game of cai-ds in an adjoining room. He called to them 
several times to make less noise, but they paid little or no 
attention to him. He finally got up and went to the room 
with the intention of cleaning out the whole crowd. He 
knocked and was admitted ; greatly to his surprise, he found 
the party to be some merchants of the city, whom he had 
met the previous day. They were playing poker, and invited 



332 



LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 



him to take a hand. Bill sat down at the table, and said 
that, inasmuch as thej would not let him sleep, he wouldn't 
mind playing for a while, provided they would post him a 
little in the game, for he didn't know much about it. At 
first he didn't play very well, intentionally making many 
blunders and asking numerous questions ; but when morning 
came, he was about seven hundred dollars ahead. Bill put 
the money in his pocket, and just as he was leaving the 




LEARNING THE GAME. 



room he advised them never to wake a man up and invite 
him to play poker. 

Wild Bill remained with me until we reached Rochester. 
I met my family there, and having bouglit some property in 
that city, with the intention of making the place my home, 
I asked Bill not to cut up any of his capers, for I wanted 
the performance to go off smoothly, as I expected a large 
audience that evening. He, of course, promised to behave 
himself. When the curtain rose the house was crowded. 



WILD BILL LEAVES THE TROUPE. 333 

The play proceeded finely until the Indian fight in the sec- 
ond act, when Bill amused himself by his old trick of singe- 
ing the legs of the " supers." 

After the curtain dropped, the " supers " complained to 
me about it. Bill's conduct made me angry, and I told him 
that he must either stop shooting the " supers," or leave the 
company. He made no reply, but went to the dressing-room 
and changed his buckskin suit for his citizen's dress, and 
during one of my scenes I looked down in front and saw 
him elbowing his way through the audience and out of the 
theater. When I had finished the scene, and had retired 
from the stage, the stage-carpenter came up and said: 

" That long-haired gentleman, who passed out a few min- 
utes ago, requested me to tell you that you could go to 
thunder with your old show." 

That was the last time that "Wild Bill and I ever per- 
formed together on the stage. After the evening's enter- 
tainment I met him at the Osborn House. By this time he 
had recovered from his mad fit and was in. as good humor as 
ever. He had made up his mind to leave for the West the 
next day. I endeavored to persuade him to remain with 
me till spring, and then we would go together ; but it was 
of no use. I then paid him the money due him, and Jack 
and myself made him a present of $1 ,000 besides. 

Bill went to Kew York the next day, intending to start 
west from there. Several days afterwards I learned that he 
had lost all his money in New York by playing faro ; also that 
a theatrical manager had engaged him to play. A company 
was organized and started out, but as a "star" Wild Bill 
was not a success; the further he went the poorer he 
got. This didn't suit Bill by any means, and he accordingly 
retired from the stage. The company, however, kept on the 
road, using Bill's name, and employing an actor to repre- 
sent him not only on the stage but on the street and else- 
where. Bill heard of this deception and sent word to the 
manager to stop it, but no attention was paid to his message. 



S34: 



LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 



Finally, Bill resolved to have satisfaction and he pro- 
ceeded to a town where the company w^as to play ; lie entered 
the theater and took a seat near the stage, and watched the 
performance until the bogus Wild Bill appeared. Be then 
sprang upon the stage, knocked the actor clear through one 
of the scenes, and grabbing the manager by the shoulders he 
threw him over the foot-hghts into the orchestra. The 
other actors screamed and yelled " Police ! " The audience 




GETTING SATISFACTION. 

could not at first understand what it all meant, some of them 
supposing the affiiir to be a part of the play. 

Wild Bill retired from the stage in good order, resumed 
his seat, and told them to go on with their show. A police- 
Toan now appearing, Bill was pointed out as the disturber 
of the peace ; the officer tapping him on the shoulder, said : 

" I'll have to arrest you, sir." 

*' How many of you are there ? " asked Bill. 

*' Only myself," said the policeman. 



PAYING A FINE. 335 

" You had better get some help," said Bill. The officer 
then called up another policeman, and Bill again asked : 
" How many of you are there now ? " 

" Two," was the reply. . 

" Then 1 advise you to go out and get some more rein- 
forcements," said Bill, very coolly. 

The policemen thereupon spoke to the sheriff, who was 
dressed in citizen's clothes. The sheriff came up and said 
he would have to take him into custody. 

" All right, sir," replied Bill, " I have e^o objections to 
•walking out with you, but I won't gowitlf'any two police- 
men." At the court next morning Bill stated his reasons for 
having acted as he had done, and the judge fined him only 
three dollars and costs. 

This was the last time that Wild Bill appeared on the 
stage. He shortly afterwards returned to the West, and on 
arriving at Cheyenne, he visited Boulder's gambling room 
and sat down at a faro table. Xo one in the room recog- 
nized him, as he had not been in Cheyenne for several years. 
After losing two or three bets he threw down a fifty dollar bill 
and lost that also. Boulder quietly raked in the money. Bill 
placed a second fifty dollar note on another card, when 
Boulder informed him that the limit was twenty-five dollars. 

" You have just taken in a fifty dollar bill which I lost," 
said Bill. 

" Well you needn't make any more such bets, as I will not 
go above my limit," replied Boulder. 

" I'll just play that fifty dollar bill as it lays. If it loses, 
it's yours ; if it wins, you'll pay me fifty dollars, or I'll know 
the reason why." 

" I am running this game, and I want no talk from you, 
sir," said Boulder. 

One word brought on another, until Boulder threatened 

to have Bill put out of the house. Bill was carrying the 

butt en 1 01 a I'liiiard cue for a cane, and bending over the 

table, h-.^ said : '' You'd rob a blind man." Then he suddenly 

20 



336 Lit i. OJb BUFFALO BILL. 

tapped Boulder on the head with the cane, with such force 
as to knock him over. "With another sweep of the cane he 
tumbled the " look-out " from his chair, and then reaching 
over into the money drawer he mi'abbed a handful of green- 
backs and stuck them in his^ pocket. 

At this stage of the game four or five men — who were 
employed as "bouncers" for the establishment to throw out 
the noisy persons — rushed up to capture Bill, but he knocked 
them right an(|r- left with his cane, and seeing the whole 
crowd was now jplosing in on him, he jumped into a corner, 
and with each h^nd drew a revolver and faced the enemy. 
At this moment the bar-keeper recognized him, and sang out 
in a loud voice : 

" Look out boys — that's Wild Bill you've run against." 

That settled the matter ; for w^hen they heard the name 
of Wild Bill they turned and beat a hasty retreat out of the 
doors and windows, and in less time than it takes to tell it. 
Wild Bill was the only man in the room. He coolly walked 
over to Dyer's hotel, and retired for the night. Boulder 
claimed that he had taken $500, but he really got only $200. 
Boulder, upon learning that it was Wild Bill who had 
cleaned him out, said nothing more about the money. The 
next day the two men met over a bottle of wine, and settled 
their differences in an amicable manner. 

Poor Bill was afterwards killed at Deadwood, in the Black 
Hills, in a cowardly manner, by a desperado who sneaked 
up behind him while he was playing a game of cards in a 
saloon, and shot him through the back of the head, without 
the least provocation. The murderer. Jack McCall, was 
tried and hung at Yankton, Dakotah, for the crime. Thus 
ended the career of a life-long friend of mine who, in spite 
of his many faults, was a noble man, ever brave and gen- 
erous hearted. 

Jack and myself continued playing through the country 
after Wild Bill left us, and we finally closed our season in 
Boston on the 13th of May, 1874. 



A HUNT WITH MR. MEDLEY. 337 

Business called me from Boston to New York, and after 
I bad been tbere a few days, I met an Englisji gentleman, 
Tbomas P. Medley, of London, wbo bad come to America 
for a bunt on tbe Plains, (fie bad often beard of me, and 
was anxious to engage me as bis guide and companion, and 
be offered to pay tbe liberal salary of one tbousand dollars 
a montli wbile I was witb bim. lie was a very wealtby 
man, as I learned npon inquiry, and was.ajielative of Mr. 
Lord, of tbe firm of Lord & Taylor, of ^ew York. Of 
course I accepted bis offer. -'-4!^ 

Wben we readied tbe hunting ground in Nebraska, be 
informed me, somewbat to my surprise, tbat be did not want 
to go out as Alexis did, witb carriages, servants, and otber 
luxuries, but tbat be wisbed to rougli it just as I would do 
— to sleep on tbe ground in tbe open air, and kill and cook 
bis own meat. We started out from ISTortli Platte, and spent 
several weeks in bunting all over tbe country. Dr. W. F. 
Carver, wbo tben resided at Nortb Platte, and w^bo bas 
recently acquired considerable notoriety as a rifle-shot, 
hunted with us for a few da)'s. 

Mr. Medley proved to be a very agreeable gentleman and 
an excellent hunter. While in camp he busied himself in 
carrying wood and water, attending to the tire, and prepar- 
ing and cooking tbe meals, never asking me to do a thing. 
He did not do this to save expenses, but because be wanted 
to do as the otber hunters in tbe party were doing. After 
spending as much time as he wished, we returned to the 
railroad, and he took the train for tbe East. Everything that 
was required on this bunt was paid for in the most liberal 
manner by Mr. Medley, who also gave the members of the 
party several handsome presents. 

About this time an expedition consisting of seven com- 
panies of cavalry and two companies of infantry — to be 
commanded by Colonel Mills of tbe Third Cavalry, was 
being organized to scout the Powder Eiver and Big Horn 
country, and I was employed as guide 'for the command. 



338 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

Proceeding to Rawlins, "Wyoming, we "outfitted," and other 
guides were engaged — among them Tom tSun and Bony 
Ernest, two noted Rocky Mountain scouts. We there left 
the railroad, and passing throng]* the Seminole range of the 
Rocky Mountains we established our supply camp at the 
foot of Independence Rock on the Sweetwater. I was now 
on my old familiar stamping ground, and it seemed like 
home to me. Fifteen years before, I had ridden the pony 
express and driven the overland stages through this region, 
and the command was going into the same section of country 
where Wild Bill's expedition of stage-drivers and express- 
riders had recaptured from the Indians a large number of 
stolen stage-horses. 

Le'v'ing the infantry to guard the supply camp, Colonel 
Mills struck out for the north with the seven companies of 
cavalry. One day while we were resting on a prairie near 
the head of Powder river, a horseman was seen in the dis- 
tance approaching us. At first it was thought he was 
an Indian, but as he came near we saw that he was a white 
man, and finally when he rode up to us, I recognized him as 
" California Joe," a noted scout and frontiersman who had 
spent many years in California, on the plains and in the 
mountains. He was .".rmed with a heavy old Sharpe's rifle, 
a revolver and a knife. I introduced him to Colonel Mills 
and the other officers and asked him where he was going. 
He replied that he was ont for a morning ride only ; but the 
fact was that he had been out prospecting alone for weeks 
along the foot of the Big Horii mountains. 

Having no permanent occupation just at that time, Joe 
accompanied us for two or three days, when Colonel Mills 
suggested that I liad better employ him as a scout, so that 
he could make a little money for himself. Joe didn't seem 
to care whether I hired him or not ; but I put him on the 
pay-roll, and while he was with us he drew his five dollars 
a day. It was worth the money to have him along for com- 
pany's sake, for he was a droll character in his way, and 



THE DEATH OF MY SON. 339 

afforded ns considerable amusement. We finally surprised 
Little Wolf's band of Arapahoes and drove them into the 
agencies. We then scouted the Powder river, Crazy 
Woman's Fork, and Clear Fork, and then pushed westward 
through the mountains to the Wind river. After having 
been out for a month or two we were ordered to return. 

I immediately went East and organized another Dramatic 
company for the season of 1874-75, Texas Jack being absent 
in the Yellowstone country hunting with the Earl of Dun- 
raven. I played my company in all the principal cities of 
the country, doing a good business wherever I went. The 
summer of 1875 I spent at Rochester with my family. 

For the season of 1875-6, Texas Jack and I reorganized 
©ur old Combination, and made a very successful tour. 
While we were playing at Springfield, Massachusetts, April 
20tli and 21st 1876, a telegram was handed me just as I was 
going on the stage. I opened it and found it tovj^e from 
Colonel G. W. Torrence, of Rochester, an intimate friend 
of the family, who stated that my little boy Kit was danger- 
ously ill with the scarlet fever. This was indeed sad news, 
for little Kit had always been my greatest pride. I sent for 
John Burke, our business manager, and showing him the 
telegram, told him that I would play the first act, and 
making a proper excuse to the audience, I would then take 
the nine o'clock train that same evening for Rochester, leav- 
ing him to play out my part. This I did, and at ten o'clock 
the next moniing I arrived in Rochester, and was met at 
the depot by my intimate friend Moses Kerngood who at 
once drove me to my home. I found my little boy unable 
to speak but he seemed to recognize me and putting his little 
arms around my neck he tried to kiss me. We did every- 
thing in our power to save him, but it was of no avail. The 
Lord claimed his own, and that evening at six o'clock my 
beloved little Kit died in my arms. We laid him away to 
rest in the beautiful cemetery of Mount Hope amid sorrow 
and tears. 



CHAPTEK XXX. 



I RETURN TO THE PLAINS. 



WE closed our theatrical season earlier than usual in the 
spring of 1876, because I was anxious to take part in 
the Sioux war which was then breaking out. Colonel Mills 
had written me several letters saying that General Crook 
was anxious to have me accompany his command, and I 
promised to do so, intending to overtake him in the Powder 
river country. But when I arrived at Chicago, on my way 
"West, I learned that my old regiment, the gallant Fifth Cav- 
alry, was on its way back from Arizona to join General 
Crook, and that my old commander, General Carr, was in 
command. He had written to military headquarters at Chi- 
cago to learn my whereabouts, as he wished to secure me as 
his guide and chief of scouts. I then gave up the idea of 
overtaking General Crook, and hastening on to Cheyenne, 
where the Fifth Cavalry had already arrived, I was met at 
the depot by Lieutenant King, adjutant of the regiment, he 
having been sent down from Fort D. A. Kussell for that 
purpose by General Carr, who had learned by a telegram 
from military headquarters at Chicago that I was on the 
way. I accompanied the Lieutenant on horseback to the 
camp, and as we rode up, one of the boys shouted, "Here's 
Buifalo Bill ! " Soon after there came three hearty cheers 
from the regiment. Officers and men all were glad to see 

340 



WITH THE FIFTH CAVALRY AGAIN. 34I 

me, and I was equally delighted to meet them once more. 
The General at once appointed me his guide and chief of 
scouts. 

Tiie next morning the command pulled out for Fort Lar- 
amie, and on reaching tliat post we found General Sheridan 
there, accompanied bj General Frye and General Forsyth, 
en route to E.ed Cloud agency. As the command was to 
remain here a few days, I accompanied General Sheridan to 
Red Cloud and back, taking a company of cavalry as escort. 

The Indians having recently committed a great many 
depredations on the Black Hills road, the Fifth Cavalry was 
sent out to scout the country between the Indian agencies 
and the hills. The command operated on the South Fork 
of the Cheyenne and at the foot of the Black Hills for about 
two weeks, having several small engagements with roving 
bands of Indians during the time. General Wesley Merritt 
— who had lately received his promotion to the Colo- 
nelcy of the Fifth Cavalry — now came out and took control 
of the regiment. I was sorry that the command was taken 
from General Carr, because under him it had made its fight- 
ing reputation. However, upon becoming acquainted with 
General Merritt, I found him to be an excellent officer. 

The regiment, by continued scouting, soon drove the 
Indians out of that section of the country, as we supposed, 
and we had started on our way back to Fort Laramie, when 
a scout arrived at the camp and reported the massacre of 
General Custer and his band of heroes on the Little Big 
Horn, on the 25th of June, 1876 ; and he also brought 
orders to General Merritt to proceed at once to Fort Fetter- 
man and join General Crook in the Big Horn country. 

Colonel Stanton, who was with the Fifth Cavalry on this 
scout, had been sent to Red Cloud agency two days before, 
and tluit same evening a scout arrived bringing a message 
from i^ira that eight hundred Cheyenne warriors had that 
day left the I^ed Cloud agency to join Sitting Bull's hostile 
forces, in the Big Horn region. Notwithstanding the in- 



342 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

structioiis to proceed immediately to join General Crook by 
the way of Fort Fetterman, Colonel Merritt took the respon- 
sibility of endeavoring to intercept the Cheyennes, and as 
the sequel shows he performed a very important service. 

He selected iive hundi-ed men and horses, and in two^ 
hours we were making a forced march back to Hat, or War- 
Bonnet Creek — the intention being to reach the main Indian 
trail running to the north across that creek before the Chey- 
ennes could get there. We arrived there the next night, 
and at daylight the following morning, July ITth, 1876, I 
went out on a scout, and found that the Indians had not yet 
crossed the creek. On my way back to the command I dis- 
covered a large party of Indians, which proved to be the 
Cheyennes, coming up from the south, and I hurried to the 
camp with this important information. 

The cavalrymen quietly mounted their horses, and were 
ordered to remain out of sight, while General Merritt, ac- 
companied by two or three aides and myself, went out on a 
little tour of observation to a neighboring hill, from the" 
summit of which we saw that the Indians were approaching 
almost directly towards us. Presently fifteen or twenty of 
them daslied oif to the west in the direction from which we 
had come the night before ; and upon closer observation 
with our field glasses, we discovered two mounted soldiers, 
evidently carrying dispatches for us, pushing forward on 
our trail. 

The Indians were evidently endeavoring to intercept these 
two men, and General Merritt feared that they would ac- 
complish their object. He did not think it advisable to send 
out any soldiers to the assistance of the couriers, for fear 
that would show to the Indians that there w^ere troops 
in the vicinity who were waiting for tliem. I finally sug- 
gested that the best plan was to wait until the courie?-s came 
closer to the command, and then, just as the Indiaius were 
about to charge, to let me take the scouts and cut them off 
from the main body of the Cheyennes, who were coming 
over the divide. 



MY FIGHT WITH YELLOW-HAND. 343 

" All right, Cody," said the General, " if you can do that, 
go ahead." 

I rushed back to the command, jumped on my horse, 
picked out fifteen men, and returned with them to the point 
of observation. I told General Merritt to give us the word 
to start out at the proper time, and presently he sang out : 

" Go in now, Cody, and be quick about it. They are 
going to charge on the couriers." 

The two messengers were not over four hundred yards 
from us, and the Indians were only about two hundred 
yards behind them. We instantly dashed over the bluffs, 
and advanced on a gallop towards the Indians. A running 
fight lasted several minutes, during which we drove the 
enemy some little distance and killed three of their number. 
The rest of them rode off towards the main body, which had 
come into plain sight, and halted, upon seeing the skirmish 
that was going on. "VVe were about half a mile from Gen- 
eral Merritt, and the Indians whom we were chasing sud- 
denly turned upon us, and another lively skirmish took 
place. One of the Indians, "svho was handsomely decorated 
with all the ornaments usually worn by a war chief when 
engaged in a fight, sang out to me, in his own tongue : 

" I know you, Pa-he-haska ; if you want to fight, come 
ahead and fight me." 

The chief was riding his horse back and forth in front of 
his men, as if to banter me, and I concluded to accept the 
challenge. I galloped towards him for fifty yards and he 
advanced towards me about the same distance, both of us 
riding at full speed, and then, when we were only about 
thirty yards apart, I raised my rifle and fired ; his horse fell 
to the ground, having been killed by my bullet. 

Almost at the same instant my own horse went down, he 
having stepped into a hole. The fall did not hurt me much, 
and I instantly sprang to ray feet. The Indian had also 
recovered himself, and we were now both on foot, and not 
more than twenty paces apart. We fired at each other 



344: LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

simultaneously. My usual luck did not desert me on this 
occasion, for his bullet missed me, while mine struck him in 
the breast. He reeled and fell, but before he had fairly 
touched the ground I was upon him, knife in hand, and had 
driven the keen-edged weapon to its hilt in his heart. Jerk- 
ing his war-bonnet off, I scientifically scalped him in about 
five seconds. 

The whole affair from beginning to end occupied but little 
time, and the Indians, seeing that I was some little distance 
from my compan}^, now came charging down upon me from 
a hill, in hopes of cutting nie off. General Merritt had wit- 
nessed the duel, and realizing the danger I was in, ordered 
Colonel Mason with Company K to hurry to my rescue. 
The order came none too soon, for had it been given one 
minute later I would have had not less than two hundred 
Indians upon me. As the soldiers came up I swung the 
Indian chieftain's top-knot and bonnet in the air, and 
shouted : 

" The first seal]) for Custer^'' 

General Merritt, seeing that he could not now ambush the 
Indians, ordered the whole regiment to charge upon them. 
They made a stubborn resistance for a little while, but it 
was of no use for any eight hundred, or even sixteen hun- 
dred Indians to try and check a charge of the gallant old 
Fifth Cavalry, and they soon came to that conclusion and 
began a running retreat towards Red Cloud Agency. For 
thirty-five miles we drove them ; pushing them so hard that 
they Avere obliged to abandon their loose horses, their camp 
equipage and everything else. We drove them into the 
agency, and followed in ourselves, notwithstanding the pos- 
sibility of our having to encounter the thousands of Indians 
at that point. "We were uncertain whether or not the other 
agency Indians had determined to follow the example of the 
Cheyennes and strike out upon the war-path ; but that 
made no difference with the Fifth Cavalry, for they would 
have fought them all if necessary. It was dark when we 




A DUEL WITH CHIEF YELLOW HAND. 



AFTER THE SIOUX. 347 

rode into the agency, where we found thousands of Indians 
collected together; but thej manifested no disposition to 
fight. 

While at the agency I learned the name of the Indian 
Chief whom I had killed in the morning ; it was Yellow 
Hand ; a son of old Cut-nose — a leading chief of the Chey- 
ennes. Cut-nose, having learned that I had killed his son 
sent a Avhite interpreter to me with a message to the effect 
that he would give me four mules if I would turn over to 
him Yellow Hand's Avar-bonnet, guns, pistols, ornaments, 
and other paraphernalia which I had captured. I sent back 
word to the old gentleman that it would give me pleasure 
to accommodate him, but I could not do it this time. 

The next morning we started to join General Crook, who 
was camped near the foot of Cloud Peak in the Big Horn 
mountains ; awaiting the arrival of the Fifth Cavalry, before 
proceeding against the Sioux, who M^ere somewhere near the 
head of the Little Big Horn, — as his scouts informed him. 
We made rapid marches and reached General Crook's camp 
on Goose Creek about the 3d of August. 

At this camp I met many old friends, among whom was 
Colonel Royal, who had received his promotion to the Lieu- 
tenant Colonelcy of the Third Cavalry. He introduced me 
to General Crook, whom I had never met before, but of 
whom I had often heard. He also introduced me to the 
General's chief guide, Frank Grouard, a half breed, who had 
lived six years with Sitting Bull, and knew the country 
thoroughly. 

We remained in this camp only one day, and then the 
whole troop pulled out for the Tongue river, leaving our 
wagons behind, but taking with us a large pack train. We 
marched down the Tongue river for two days, thence in a 
westerly direction over to the Bosebud, where we struck the 
main Indian trail, leading down this stream. From the size 
of the trail, which appeared to be about four days old, we 
estimated that there must have been in the neighborhood of 
fifiven thousand Indians who had made the broad trail. 



348 



LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 



At this point we were overtaken by Jack Crawford, 
familiarly known as " Captain Jack, the Poet Scout of the 
Black Hills," and right here I will insert the following lines, 
written by him, just after the " Custer Massacre," upon 
receiving from me the following dispatch : 

" Jack, old boy, have you heard of the death of Custer ? "■ 

CUSTER'S DEATH. 



Did I hear the news from Custer ? 

Well, I reckon I did, old pard; 
It came like a streak of lightnin ', 

And, you bet, it hit me hard. 
I ain't no hand to blubber. 

And the briny ain't run for years ; 
But chalk me down for a lubber, 

If i didn't shed regular tears. 
What for ? Now look you here, Bill, 

You're a bully boy, that's true ; 
As good as e'er wore buckskin, 

Or fought with the boys in blue ; 
But I'll bet my bottom dollar 

Ye had no trouble to muster 
A tear, or perhaps a hundred. 

At the news of the death of Custer. 

He always thought well of you, pard, 

And had it been heaven's will, 
In a few more days you'd met him, 

And he'd welcome his old scout Bill 
For if ye remember at Hat Creek, 

I met ye with General Carr; 
We talked of the brave young Custer, 

And recounted his deeds of war. 
But little we knew even then, pard, 

(And that's just two weeks ago). 
How little we dreamed of disaster, 

Or that he had met the foe — 
That the fearless, reckless hero, 

So loved by the wliole frontier, 
Had died on the field of battle 

In this, our centennial year. 
I served with him in the army, 

In the darkest days of the war : 



And I reckon ye know his record, 
For he was our guiding star ; 

And the boys who gathered round him 
To charge in the early morn, 

War just like the brave who perished 
With him on the Little Horn. 

And where is the satisfaction. 

And how will the boys get square? 
By giving the reds more rifles? 

Invite them to take more hair? 
We want no scouts, no trappers. 

Nor men who know the frontier ; 
Phil, old boy, you're mistaken, 

We must have the volunteer. 
Never mind that two hundred thousand 

But give us a hundred instead ; 
Send five thousand men towards Reno, 

And soon we won't leave a red. 
It will save Uncle Sam lots of money, 

In fortress we need not invest. 
Jest wollup the devils this summer, 

And the miners Avill do all the rest. 
The Black Hills are filled with miners. 

The Big Horn will soon be as full. 
And which will show the most danger 

To Crazy Horse and old Sitting Bull 
A band of ten thousand frontier men. 

Or a couple of forts with a few 
Of the boys in the East now enlisting — 

Friend Cody, I leave it with you. 
They talk of peace with these demons 

By feeding and clothing them well : 
I'd as soon think an angel from Heaven 

Would reign with contentment in H-1 



COLONEL JONES' PRESENT. 3^9 



And one day the Quakers will answer 

Before the great Judge of us all, 
Por the death of daring young Custer 

And the boys who round him did fall- 
Perhaps I ara judging them harshly, 

But 1 mean what I'm telling ye, pard ; 
I'm letting them down mighty easy. 

Perhaps they may think it is hard. 
But I tell you the day is approaching — 



That day of the great retribution, 

The day of revenge for our Custer. 
And I will be with you, friend Cody, 

My weight will go in with the boys ; 
I shared all their hardships last winter, 

1 shared all their sorrows and joys ; 
Tell them I'm coming, friend William, 

I trust I will meet you ere long; 
Regards to the boys in the mountains ; 



The boys are beginning to muster — | Yours, ever ; in friendship still strong. 

Jack "vt^as a new man in the country, but evidently had 
plenty of nerve and pluck, as lie had brought dispatches 
from Fort Fetterman, a distance of 300 miles through a 
dangerous Indian country. The dispatches were for General 
Crook, and notified him that General Terry was to operate 
with a large command south of the Yellowstone, and that 
the two commands would probably consolidate somewhere 
on the Rosebud. 

Jack at once hunted me up and gave me a letter from 
General Sheridan, informing me that he had appointed him 
(Jack) as one of the scouts. 

"While we were conversing, Jack informed me that he had 
brought me a present from Colonel Jones of Cheyenne, and 
that he had it in his saddle-pockets. Asking the nature of 
the gift, he replied that it was only a bottle of good whiskey. 

I placed my hand over his mouth and told him to keep 
still, and not to whisper it even to the winds, for there were 
too many dry men around us ; and only when alone with 
him did I dare to have him take the treasure from his saddle- 
pockets. 

In this connection I may remark that Jack Crawford is 
the only man I have ever known that could have brought 
that bottle of whiskey through without accident befalling it, 
for he is one of the very few teetotal scouts I ever met. 

Not wishing to have a game of " whiskey solitaire^'' I invited 
General Carr to sample the bottle with me. "We soon found 
a secluded spot, and dismounting, we thought we were going 



350 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

to have a nice little drink all bj ourselves, when who should 
ride up but Mr. Lathrop, the Reporter of the Associated 
Press of the Pacific slope — to whom we had given the name 
of the " Death Pattler," — and who was also known in San 
Francisco as " the man with the iron jaw," he having, with 
the true nose of a Reporter, smelt the whiskey from afar off,, 
and had come to " interview " it. He was a good fellow 
withal, and we were glad to have him join us. 

Now to resume : For two or three days we pushed on, 
but we did not seem to gain much on the Indians, as they 
were evidently making about the same marches that we 
were. On the fourth or fifth morning of our pursuit, I 
rode ahead of the command about ten miles, and mounting 
a hill I scanned the country far and wide with my field 
glass, and discovered an immense column of dust rising 
about ten miles further down the creek, and soon I noticed 
a body of men marching towards me, that at first I believed 
to be the Indians of whom we were in pursuit ; but subse- 
quently they proved to be General Terry's command. I 
sent back word to that effect to General Crook, by a scout 
who had accompanied me, but after he had departed I ob- 
served a band of Indians on the opposite side of the creek, 
and also another party directly in front of me. This led 
me to believe that I had made a mistake. 

But shortly afterwards my attention was attracted by the 
appearance of a body of soldiers, who were forming into a 
skirmish line, and then I became convinced that it was Gen- 
eral Terry's command after all, and that the red-skins whom 
I had seen were some of his friendly Indian scouts, who had 
mistaken me for a Sioux, and fled back to their command 
terribly excited, shouting, " The Sioux are coming ! " 

General Terry at once came to the post, and ordered the 
Seventh Cavalry to form line of battle across the Rosebud ; 
he also ordered up his artillery and had them prepare for 
action, doubtless dreading another " Custer massacre." I 
afterwards learned the Indians had seen the dust raised by 



ONE AGAINST A THOUSAND. 351 

General Crook's forces, and had reported that the Sioux 
were coming. 

These manoiuvres I witnessed from my position with con- 
siderable amusement, thinking the command nmst be badly 
demoralized, when one man could cause a whole army to 
form line of battle and prepare for action. Having enjoyed 
the situation to my heart's content, I galloped down towards 
the skirmish line, waving my hat and when within about 
one hundred yards of the troops. Colonel Weir, of the Sev- 
enth Cavalry, galloped out and met me. He recognized me 
at once, and accompanied me inside the line ; then he sang 
out, " Boys, here's Buffalo Bill. Some of you old soldiers 
know him ; give him a cheer ! " Thereupon the regiment 
gave three rousing cheers, and it was followed up all along 
the line. 

Colonel "Weir presented me to General Terry, and in 
answer to his questions I informed him that the alarm of 
Indians which had been given was a false one, as the dust 
seen by his scouts was caused by General Crook's troops. 
General Terry thereupon rode forward to meet General 
Crook, and I accompanied him at his request. That night 
both commands went into camp on the Rosebud. General 
Terry had his wagon train with him, and everything to 
make life comfortable on an Indian campaign. He had 
large wall tents and portable beds to sleep in, and large hos- 
pital tents for dining-rooms. His camp looked very com- 
fortable and attractive, and presented a great contrast to 
that of General Crook, who had for his headquarters only 
one small fly tent ; and whose cooking utensils consisted of 
a quart cup — in which he made his coffee himself — and a 
stick, upon which he broiled his bacon. "When I compared 
the two camps, I came to the conclusion that General Crook 
was an Indian fighter; for it was evident that he had learned 
that, to follow and fight Indians, a body of men must travel 
lightly and not be detained by a wagon train or heavy lug- 
gage of any kind. 



« 

352 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

That evening General Terry ordered General Miles to 
take his regiment, the Fifth Infantry, and return by a forced 
march to the Yellowstone, and proceed down that river by 
steamboat to the month of Powder river, to intercept the 
Indians, in case they attempted to cross the Yellowstone. 
General Mills made a forced march that night of thirty-five 
miles, which was splendid traveling for an infantry regi- 
ment through a mountainous country. 

Generals Crook and Terry spent that evening and the 
next day in council, and on the following morning both 
commands moved out on the Indian trail. Although Gen- 
eral Terry was the senior officer, he did not assume com- 
mand of both expeditions, but left General Crook in com- 
mand of his own troops, although they operated together. 
We crossed the Tongue river to Powder river, and pro- 
ceeded down the latter stream to a point twenty miles from 
its junction with the Yellowstone, w^here the Indian trail 
turned to the southeast in the direction of the Black Hills. 
The two commands now being nearl}^ out of supplies, the 
trail was abandoned, and the troops kept on down Powder 
river to its confluence with the YelloAvstone, and remained 
there several days. Here mo met General Mills, who re- 
ported that no Indians had as yet crossed the Yellowstone. 
Several steamboats soon arrived with a large quantity of 
supplies, and once more the " Boys in Blue " were made 
happy. 



CHAPTEE XXXI. 

DANGEROUS WOKK. 

ONE evening while we were in camp on the Yellowstone 
at the mouth of Powder river, I was iniormed that the 
commanding oiBcers had selected Louis Eichard, a half 
breed, and myself to accompany General Mills on a scont- 
ino- expedition on the steamer Far West, down the Yellow- 
stone as far as Glendive Creek. We were to ride on the 
pilot house and keep a sharp lookout on both sides of the 
river for Indian trails that might have crossed the stream. 
The idea of scouting on a steamboat was indeed a novel 
one to me, and I anticipated a pleasant trip. 

At daylight next morning we reported on board the 
steamer to General Mills, who had with him four or five 
companies of his regiment. We were somewhat surprised 
when he asked us where our horses were, as we had not sup- 
posed that horses would be needed if the scouting was to be 
done on the steamer. He said we might need them before 
we got back, and thereupon we had the animals brought on 
board. In a few minutes we were booming down the river, 
at the rate of about twenty miles an hour. 

The steamer Far West was commanded by Captain Grant 

Marsh, whom I found to be a " brick." I had often heard 

of him, for he was and is yet one of the best known river 

captains in the country. He it was who, with his steamer 

21 353 



354 



LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 




the Far West, transported 
the wounded men from tlie 
battle of the Little Big Horn 
to Fort Abraham Lincoln on 
the Missouri river, and on 
that trip he made the fastest 
steamboat time on record . 
He was a skillful and experi- 
enced pilot, handling his boat 
with remarkable dexterity. 

While Kichard and myself 
were at our stations on the 
pilot honse, the steamer with 
a full head of steam went fly- 
ing past islands, around 
bends, over sand-bars, at a 
rate that was exhilarating. 
Presently 1 thought I could 
see horses grazing in a distant 
bend of the river and I 
reported the fact t o General 
Mills, who asked Captain 
Marsh if he could land the 
. boat near a large tree which 
he pointed out to him. 
scoTTTiNG ON A STEAMBOAT. ' 1 es. Sir J i csn Janci iier 

there, and make her climb the tree if necessary," said he. 



INDIAN GRAVES. 355 

On reaching the spot designated, General Mills ordered 
two companies ashore, while Richard and myself were 
ordered to take our horses off the boat and push out as rap- 
idly as possible to see if there were Indians in the vicinity. 
While we were getting ashore, Captain Marsh remarked that 
if there was only a good heavy dew on the grass he would 
shoot the steamer ashore and take us on the scout withont 
the trouble of leaving the boat. 

It was a false alarm, however, as the objects we had seen 
proved to be Indian graves. Quite a large number of braves 
who had probably been killed in some battle, had been 
buried on scaffolds, according to the Indian custom, and some 
of their clothing had been torn loose from the bodies by the 
wolves and was waving in the air. 

On arriving at Glendive Creek we found that Colonel 
Kice and his compan}^ of the Fifth Infantry, who had been 
sent there by General Mills, had built quite a good little 
fort with their trowel-bayonets — a wea])on which Colonel 
Rice was the inventor of, and which is, by the way, a very 
useful implement of war, as it can be used for a shovel in 
throwing up intrenchments and can be profitably utilized in 
several other ways. On the day previous to our arrival, 
Colonel Rice had a fight with a party of Indians, and had 
killed two or three of them at long range with his Rodman 
cannon. 

The Far West was to remain at Glendive over niglit, and 
General Mills wished to send dispatches back to General 
Terry at once. At his request I took the dispatches and 
rode seventy-five miles that night through the bad lands of 
the Yellowstone, and reached General Terry's camp next 
morning, after having nearly broken my neck a dozen times 
or more. 

There being but little prospect of any more fighting, I 
determined to go East as soon as possible to organize a new 
"Dramatic Combination," and have a new drama written for 
me, based upon the Sioux war. This I knew would be a 



356 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

paying investment as the Sioux campaign Lad excited consid- 
ei'able interest. So I started down tlie river on the steamer 
Yellowstone en route to Fort Beauford. On the same morn- 
ing Generals Terry and Crook pulled out for Powder river, 
to take up the old Indian trail which we had recently left. 

The steamer had proceeded down the stream about twenty 
miles when it was met by another boat on its way up the 
river, having on board General Whistler and some fresh 
troops for General Terry's command. Both boats landed, 
and almost the first person I met was my old friend and part- 
ner, Texas Jack, who had been sent out as a dispatch carrier 
for the JVew York Herald. 

General AVhistler, upon learning that General Terry had 
left the Yellowstone, asked me to carry to him some import- 
ant dispatches from General Sheridan, and although I 
objected, he insisted upon my performing this duty, saying 
that it would only detain me a few hours longer; as an extra 
inducement he offered me the use of his own thorough-bred 
horse, which was on the boat. I finally consented to go, 
and was soon speeding over the rough and hilly country 
towards Powder river ; and I delivered the dispatches to 
General Terry that same evening. General Whistler's horse, 
although a good animal, was not used to such hard riding, 
and was far more exhausted by the journey than I w^as. 

After I had taken a luncli, General Terry asked me if I 
would carry some dispatches back to General Whistler, and 
I replied that I wonld. Captain Smith, Genei-al Terry's 
aid-de-camp, offered me his horse for the trip, and it proved 
to be an excellent animal ; for I rode him that same night 
forty miles over the bad lands in four hours, and reached 
General Whistler's steamboat at one o'clock. During my 
absence the Indians had made their appearance on the differ- 
ent hills in the vicinity, and the troops from the boat had 
had several skirmishes with them. When General Whistler 
had finished reading the dispatches, he said: 

"Cody, I want to send information to General Terry con- 



HARD RIDING, 357 

cerning the Indians who have been skirmishing around here 
all day. I have been trying all the evening long to induce 
some one to carry my dispatches to him, but no one seems 
willing to undertake the trip, and I have got to fall back on 
you. It is asking a great deal, I kiM)w, as you have just rid- 
den eighty miles ; but it is a case of necessity, and if you'll 
go, Cody, I'll see that you are well paid for it." 

" Never mind about the pay," said I, but get your dis. 
patches ready, and I'll start at once." 

In a few minutes he handed me the package, and mount- 
ing the same horse which I had ridden from General Terry's 
camp, I struck out for my destination. It was two o'clock 
in the morning when I left the boat, and at eight o'clock I 
rode into General Terry's camp, just as he was about to 
march — having made one hundred and twenty miles in twen- 
ty-two hours. 

General Terry, after reading the dispatches, halted his 
command, and then rode on and overtook General Crook, 
with whom he held a council ; the result was that Crook's 
command moved on in the direction which they had been 
pursuing, while Terry's forces marched back to the Yellow- 
stone and crossed the river on steamboats. At the urgent 
request of General Terry I accompanied the command on a 
scout in the direction of the Dry Fork of the Missouri, where 
it was expected we would strike some Indians. 

The first march out from the Yellowstone was made in 
the night, as we wished to get into the hills without being 
discovered by the Sioux scouts. After marching three days, 
a little to the east of north, we reached the buffalo range, 
and discovered fresh signs of Indians, who had evidently 
been killing buffaloes. General Terry now called on me to 
carry dispatches to Colonel Rice, who was still camped at 
the mouth of Glendive Creek, on the Yellowstone — distant 
about eighty miles from us. 

jSTight had set in with a storm, and a drizzling rain was 
falling when, at ten o'clock, I started on this ride through a 



358 



LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 



section of country with which I was entirely unacquainted. 
I traveled througli the darkness a distance of about thirty- 
five miles, and at daylight I rude into a secluded spot at the 
head of a ravine where stood a bunch of ash trees, and there 
I concluded to remain till night ; for I considered it a 
dangerous undertaking to cross the wide prairies in broad 
daylight — especially as my horse was a poor one. 

I accordingly unsaddled my animal, and ate a hearty 




CLOSE QUARTERS. 

breakfast of bacon and hard tack which I had stored in the 
saddle-pockets; then, after taking a smoke, I lay down to 
sleep, with my saddle for a pillow. In a few minutes I was 
in the hind of dreams. 

After sleeping some time — I can't tell how long — I was 
suddenly awakened by a roaring, rumbling sound. I instantly 
seized my gun, sprang to my horse, and hurriedly secreted 
him in the brush. Then I climbed up the steep side of the 
bank and cautiously looked over the summit; in the dis- 



STILL ON THE ROAD. 359 

tance I saw a large herd of Liifi'uloes -vvliicli were being 
cliased and fired at by twenty or thirty Indians, Occasion- 
ally a bnffalo would drop out of the herd, but the Indians 
kept on until they had killed ten or fifteen. They then 
turned back, and began to cut up their game. 

I saddled my horse and tied him to a small tree where I 
could reach him conveniently in case the Indians should dis- 
cover me by finding my trail and following it. I then 
crawled carefully back to the summit of the bluff, and in a 
concealed position watched the Indians for two hours, dur- 
ing which time they were occupied in cutting np the buffa- 
loes and packing the meat on their ponies. AVhen they had 
finished this work they rode off in the direction whence they 
had come and on the line which I had proposed to travel. It 
appeared evident to me that their camp was located some- 
where between me and Glendive Creek, but I had no idea 
of abandoning the trip on that account. 

I waited till nightfall before resuming my journey, and 
then I bore off to the east for several miles, and by making 
a semi-circle to avoid the Indians, I got back on my original 
course, and then pushed on rapidly to Colonel Rice's camp, 
which I reached just* at daylight. 

Colonel Rice had been fighting Indians almost every day 
since he had been encamped at this point, and he was very 
anxious to notify General Terry of the fact. Of course I 
was requested to carry his dispatches. After remaining at 
Olendive a single day I started back to find General Terry, 
and on the third day out I overhauled him at the head of 
Deer Creek while on his way to Colonel Rice's camp. He 
was not, however, going in the right direction, but bearing 
too far to the east, and I so informed him. He then asked 
me to guide the command and I did so. 

On arriving at Glendive I bade good-bye to the General 
and his officers and took passage on the steamer Far West, 
which was on her way down the Missouri. At Bismarck I 
left the steamer, and proceeded by rail to Rochester, New 
York, where I met my family. 



360 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 

Mr. J. Clinton Hall, manager of the Rochester Opera 
House, was very anxious to have me play an engagement at 
his theatre. I agreed to open the season with him as soon 
as I had got my drama written ; and I did so, meeting with 
an enthusiastic reception. 

My new drama was arranged for the stage hy J. Y. Ar- 
lington, the actor. It was a live-act play, without head or 
tail, and it made no difi'erence at which act we commenced 
the performance. Before we had finished the season several 
newspaper critics, I have been told, went crazy in trying to 
follow tlie plot. It afforded us, howevei', ample opportunity 
to give a noisy, rattling, gunpowder entertainment, and to 
present a succession of scenes in the late Indian war, all of 
which seemed to give general satisfaction. 

From Rochester I went to New York and played a very 
successful engagement at the Grand Opera House under the 
management of Messrs. Poole and Donnelly. Thence my 
route took me to all the principal cities in the Eastern, 
"Western and Middle States, and I everywhere met with 
crowded houses. I then went to the Pacific Coast, against 
the advice of friends who gave it as their opinion that my 
style of plays would not take very well in California, I 
opened for an engagement of two weeks at the Bush Street 
Theatre, in San Francisco, at a season when the theatrical 
business was dull, and Ben DeBar and the Lingards were 
playing there to empty seats. I expected to play to a slim 
audience on the opening night, but instead of that I had a 
fourteen hundred dollar house. Such was my success that I 
continued my engagement for five weeks, and the theatre 
was crowded at every performance. Upon leaving San 
Francisco I made a circuit of the interior towns and closed 
the season at Yirginia City, Nevada. 

On my way East, I met my family at Denver, where they 
were visiting my sisters Nellie and May who were then rer 
siding there. 

Some time previously I had made arrangements to go into 



ON THE STAGE AGAIN. 361 

the cattle business in company with my old friend, Major 
Frank North, and while I was in California he had built our 
ranches on the South Fork of the Dismal river, sixty -five 
miles north of North Platte, in Nebraska. Proceeding to 
Ogalalla, the headquarters of the Texas cattle drovers, I 
found Major North there awaiting me, and together we 
bought, branded and drove to our ranches, our first install- 
ment of cattle. This occupied us during the remainder of 
the summer. 

Leaving the cattle in charge of Major North, I visited 
Hed Cloud Agency early in the fall, and secured some Sioux 
Indians to accompany me on my theatrical tour of 1877-78. 
Taking my family and the Indians with me, I went directly 
to Rochester. There I left my oldest daughter, Arta, at a 
young ladies' seminary, while my wife and youngest child 
traveled with me during the season. 

I opened at the Bowery Theatre, New York, September 
3d, 1877, with a new Border Drama entitled, "May Cody, or 
Lost and Won," from the pen of Major A. S. Burt, of the 
United States army. It was founded on the incidents of 
the " Mountain Meadow Massacre," and life among the Mor- 
mons. It was the best drama I had yet produced, and proved 
a grand success both financially and artistically. The season 
of 1877-78 proved to be the most profitable one I had ever 
had. 

In February, 1878, my wife became tired of traveling, and 
proceeded to North Platte, Nebraska, where, on our farm 
adjoining the town, she personally superintended the erec- 
tion of a comfortable family residence, and had it all com- 
pleted when I reached there, early in May. In this house 
we are now living, and we hope to make it our home for 
many years to come. 



CHAPTEE XXXII. 



CONCLUSION. 



AFTEK my arrival at North Platte, I found that the 
ranchmen or cattle-men, had organized a regular annual 
*' round-up," to take place in the spring of the year. 

The word " round-up " is derived from the fact that dur- 
ino" the winter months the cattle become scattered over a 
vast tract of land, and the ranchmen assemble together in 
the spring to sort out and each secure his own stock. They 
form a large circle, often of a circumference of two hundred 
miles, and drive the cattle towards a common centre, where, 
all the stock being branded, each owner can readily separate 
his own from the general herd, and then he drives them to 
his own ranch. 

In this cattle driving business is exhibited some most 
magnificent horsemanship, for the " cow-boys," as they are 
called, are invariably skillful and fearless horsemen — in fact 
only a most expert rider could be a cow-boy, as it requires 
the greatest dexterity and daring in the saddle to cut a wild 
steer out of the herd. 

Major ISTorth was awaiting me, upon my arrival at North 
Platte, having with him our own horses and men. Other 
cattle owners, such as Keith and Barton, Coe and Carter, 
Jack Pratt, the "Walker Brothers, Guy and Sim Lang, Arnold 
and Pitchie and a great many others with their outfits, were 
assembled and were ready to start on the round-up. 

362 



DRIVING CATTLE. 3(33 

My old friend Dave Perry, who bad presented Buckskin 
Joe to me, and who resided at North Platte, was most 
anxious to go witli us for pleasure, and Frank North told 
him he could, and have plenty of fun, provided he would 
furnish his own horses, provisions and bedding, and do the 
usual work required of a cow-boy. This, Dave was willing 
to undertake. We found him to be a good fellow in camp, 
and excellent company. 

As there is nothing but hard work on these round-ups, 
having to be in the saddle all day, and standing guard over 
the cattle at night, rain or shine, I could not possibly find 
out where the fun came in, that North had promised me. 
But it was an exciting life, and the days sped rapidly by ; 
in six weeks we found ourselves at our own ranch on Dismal 
river, the round-up having proved a great success, as we had 
found all our cattle and driven them home. 

This work being over, 1 proposed to spend a few weeks 
with my family at North Platte, for the purpose of making 
their better acquaintance, for my long and continued absence 
from home made me a comparative stranger under my own 
roof-tree. One great source of pleasure to me was that my 
wife was delighted with the home I had given her amid the 
prairies of the far west. Soon after my arrival, my sisters 
Nellie and May, came to make us a visit, and a delightful 
time we all had during their stay. When they left us, I 
accompanied them to their home in Denver, Colorado, where 
I passed several days visiting old friends and scenes. 

Returning to Ogallala I purchased from Bill Phant, an ex- 
tensive cattle drover from Texas, a herd of cattle, which I 
drove to my ranch on the Dismal river, after which I bade 
my partner and the boys good-bye, and started for the Indi- 
an Territory to procure Indians for my Dramatic Combina- 
tion for the season of 1878-79. 

En route to the Territory, I paid a long promised visit to 
my sisters, Julia — Mrs. J. A. Goodman — and Eliza — Mrs. 
George M. Myers — who reside in Kansas, the state which the 
reader will remember was my boyhood home. 



304: 



LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 



Having secured my Indian actors, and along with them 
Mr. C. A. Burgess, a government interpreter, and Ed. A. 
Burgess, known as the " Boy Chief of the Pawnees," I 

started for Baltimore, 
where I organized my 
combination, and 
which w a s the largest 
troupe I had yet had 
on the road ; opening 
in that city at t h e 
Opera House, under 
the management of 
Hon. John T. Ford, 
and then started on a 
southern tour, playing 
in Washington, Rich- 
mond and as far south 
as Savannah, Georgia^ 
where we were brought 
to a sudden halt, owing 
to the yellow fever 
which was then cruelly 
raging in the beautiful 
cities of the "Land of 
the cotton and the 
cane." 

While playing in 
Washington, I sudden- 
ly learned from a re- 
p o r t e r — Washington 
newspaper men know 
everything — that m y 
Indians were to be 
seized by the Government and sent back to their agency. 
Finding that there was foundation for the rumor, I at once 
sought General Carl Shurz, Secretary of the Interior, and 




UNE OF TUK TROUPK. 



A NEW PLAY. 365 

asked him if lie intended depriving me of ray Indian actors. 
He said that he did, as the Indians "were aM-aj from their 
reservation without leave. I answered that 1 had had Indians 
with me the year before and nothing had been said about it ; 
but Commissioner Ilaight replied that the Indians were the 
" Avards of the government," and were not allowed off of 
their reservation. 

I told the Commissioner that the Indians were frequently 
off of their reservations out west, as I had a distinct remem- 
brance of meeting them upon several occasions "on the war 
2)ath," and furthermore I thought I was benefitting the In- 
dians as well as the government, by taking them all over the 
United States, and giving them a correct idea of the customs, 
life, etc., of the pale faces, so that when they returned to 
their people they could make known all they had seen. 

After a conversation with the Secretary of the Interior, 
the Commissioner concluded to allow me to retain tlie Indians, 
by appointing me Indian Agent, provided I would give the 
necessary bonds, and pledge myself to return them in safety 
to their agency — which terms I agreed to. 

From Savannah, Georgia, having changed my route on 
account of the yellow fever, I jumped my entire comjiany to 
Philadelphia, and at once continued on a north-eastern tour, 
having arranged with the well-known author and dramatist, 
Colonel Prentiss Ingraham, to write aplay for me. 

The drama entitled " The Knight of the Plains, or Buffalo 
Bill's Best Trail," was first produced at New Haven, Conn. ; 
it has i^roved a great success, and I expect to jilay it in Eng- 
land, where I purpose to go next season on a theatrical tour, 
having been urged to do so by my many friends abroad. 

After a successful tour of six weeks on the Pacific Slope, 
thus ending the season of 1878-79, I am at my home at 
l^orth Platte, Nebraska, for the summer ; and thus ends the 
account of ray career as far as it has gone. 

TuE End. 



>< 



